Broken
by Quickening
Summary: She never realized how much she depended on the subduing spell - that one, insignificant little word - until it was suddenly, inadvertently taken from her. Now they must discover exactly where the lines are drawn between hatred and friendship, grudges and forgiveness ... or maybe something more. But even should those lines be found, do they possess the courage to cross them?
1. Who Let the Dog Out?

_A new revision on a very old story I wrote. This plot has probably been done before, especially since the story is at least ten years old, but hopefully I have written it well enough to still be entertaining. It is set during the beginning of the series, before Miroku and Sango show up. Kikyou hasn't shown up yet, either. This is mostly because when I wrote it, I'd only seen a very small part of the series and they hadn't made enough of an appearance yet for me to feel comfortable writing them. This has changed, of course, but adding them in now would mean doing way more revision than I wish to at this time, so they'll remain absent._

_In that respect, this story is an _alternate reality_, as in it veers waaaay off from canon in the coming events. Please keep that in mind when reading.  
_

_Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me. I am merely borrowing the characters for the sake of writing this story. When I'm finished I promise to put them all back again relatively unscathed. The story, however, does belong to me. Steal it and die._

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Who Let the Dog Out?  
**

She'd never realized how much she actually depended on the subduing spell—that one, insignificant little word—until it was suddenly, inadvertently taken from her.

They stood in the middle of Inuyasha's Forest near the well, staring in shock at Kagome's fisted hand, from which several beads clung stubbornly to a broken, dangling string. Scattered across the earth between them, the remaining beads and several teeth glistened in the light—all that was left of the rosary that had hung around Inuyasha's neck. Kagome's senses were reeling as she sought to understand what had just happened. She'd been heading home to celebrate Souta's eighth birthday—She had promised on a _double-pinky swear_ not to miss it!—and of course Inuyasha had shown up, refusing like always to let her leave. Thus had begun their normal power-struggle, which usually ended up with Kagome losing her temper and yelling _that word_ to send Inuyasha's face into the dirt.

But this time had been … different. This time, Kagome had tried to get away without the usual subduing. After all, why ruin a perfectly good party by wallowing in guilt for sitting the stupid hanyou, when he usually deserved it in the first place? She'd even invited him to come _along _(and wouldn't Souta have _loved_ that?), but no, he had to go and be a stubborn idiot. _Again._

Finally, she'd given up and merely tried to force her way past him, which had naturally led to him forcing back. Somewhere along the lines of their mutual forcing, her hand had become entangled in the rosary, and when she'd tried to pull away from him before he could carry her back to the village, there had been a faint snap and beads were suddenly flying through the air between them.

There was absolute silence in the little clearing that surrounded the well. Not even a bird chirped. It was as though the very earth was holding its breath, awaiting the inevitable explosion.

Both the hanyou and the human continued to stare in bewilderment at the broken rosary, watching as yet another shining bead slid slowly down the thread and fell with a faint click to the rocky earth. There was not even a trace of the magic that had once bound Inuyasha within its remains. It was completely gone.

"No. Oh no…" Kagome whispered, her face paling with shock as realization slowly dawned on her.

"Ohhhh, _yes._"

She winced at the triumphant hiss and slowly raised her gaze to meet that of the hanyou. Inuyasha's eyes were brightly gleaming and an evil grin parted his lips, revealing fangs that gleamed even brighter. He practically radiated with smug satisfaction, and Kagome couldn't help but think that she hadn't seen him look _this_ feral since she'd first awakened him from his enchanted sleep.

They were both as motionless as deer caught in an open field and sensing danger, quivering with tension and ready to spring at a moment's notice.

The well was only a few feet away.

But Inuyasha was _right there_.

Could she make it? It really wasn't _that_ far to run, if she dove in head-first.

Kagome's eyes darted back and forth between the hanyou and the well, and he followed her gaze, his eyes laughing at her, silently daring her to _try_ and make a break for it.

Then the moment was there, and both of them shot forward like arrows released from a bow, aiming straight for the dilapidated old structure. Inuyasha was almost three steps behind her, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe she had a ghost of a chance of making it.

It didn't keep her from trying, though.

And she almost made it. Almost.

Just as she was beginning to think she might actually be able to dive into the well and to freedom, a strong, firm arm caught her by the waist and swung her around, pulling her back roughly against a warm, hard body and fair knocking the breath out of her. A laughing voice in her ear scolded almost playfully, "Now, now, girl. What're you tryin' to pull here?"

"I'm _trying_ to go _home!_" Kagome shouted, royally pissed at being man-handled like a stuffed animal. She squirmed furiously and tried to kick, but he easily avoided her legs. "Let _go_, you meathead!" she squealed.

"Now, Kagome, _that_ ain't a very nice thing to say. I think you better apologize to me." He was half-laughing as he spoke, clearly amused, and she was hard-pressed not to stomp on his bare feet. The jerk was having _way_ too much fun with this situation.

"Or you'll do _what?_" she snapped, crossing her arms petulantly over her chest.

His smirk widened. "Oh … I dunno. I was thinking something along the lines of … _this._" He raised one hand, sharp claws glimmering in the filtered sunlight streaming between the trees, and brought it down to the well with all his strength.

* * *

_Yes. Short chapter is short. They do get longer. I think._


	2. Change of Power

**Chapter Two **

**Change of Power**

"_NO!_"

The shriek echoed throughout the forest, loud enough to startle small forest creatures—and a large herd of deer—into panicked flight and send them crashing away through the trees.

Heedless of the panic she'd just caused, Kagome stared in horror at the clawed hand that had somehow immediately ceased its swift decent—almost like magic, really—leaving the very tips of those claws embedded into the wood with five long cracks running down the well's side. "Don't," she whimpered. "Inuyasha, _please_ don't."

He looked down at her, noting the genuine fear in her eyes, and his grin widened even more. "Keh. Why shouldn't I?" he demanded. "All that time wasted doin' who-knows-what in _your_ time, when you _should_ be collectin' the shards in this one! If you can't go home anymore, there ain't any reason why you can't focus all your attention on finding the shards, instead."

"B-but I'll be stuck here for the rest of my _life!_"

"Ain't my problem," he snorted, flexing his claws. The cracks widened ever-so-slightly.

"Stop it!" Kagome yelled, readying herself to sit him before remembering why she was in this mess in the first place. Instead, she grabbed his wrist to force his hand away from the edge of the well. He snorted again; as if _she_ could make him do _anything _he didn't want to!

Still, seeing the horrible distress on her face was wreaking havoc on his conscience (curse his human side, anyway), and he found himself taking a small amount of pity on her. A _very_ small amount, almost buried under the great heaping dose of satisfaction. He finally had her _right_ where he wanted her. "A'right, wench, here's the deal," he growled, making his voice as gruff and commanding as possible; he needed to show her beyond doubt that _he_ was the one in charge now. "I won't destroy your precious well, but _only_ as long as you swear not to go _near_ it until we find every last shard of the jewel."

"But that could take months. Maybe even _years_!" Kagome protested. "If I don't go home my family will think I died or something!"

"Keh! They know you're with me!"

"Forgive me if I don't feel reassured!" she snapped, fixing him with a withering glare.

He glared right back. "It still stands," he growled. "You come within a hundred feet of this well an' I turn it into kindling, an' _you_ can say hello to your new life in the past. Don't go tryin' ta be sneaky, either. I'll be watchin', an' you know you won't stand a chance of gettin' here before _I_ do without that spell holdin' me down!"

Kagome glared at him with a tearful, furious gaze, but she knew there was nothing to do but agree. She was no match for the hanyou and they both knew it … but that didn't mean she had to _like_ it. "You … you … you big _jerk!_" she finally yelled, stomping her foot petulantly.

He merely laughed. "I wouldn't go around makin' me mad, either. You wouldn't want me to 'accidentally' forget my end of the bargain, would you?"

"If you do, I'll never go shard hunting with you again! The stupid jewel can _rot_ for all I care!"

"Oh, sure. Ain't no problem," he purred. "You can just stay here in the village and let the youkai come find _you_, instead. Well, long as you don't mind all those innocent people gettin' caught in the middle of the battles, o' course."

"_Gaaaahhh!_" she shrieked in utter frustration, resisting the temptation to yank on her hair. Once again, he was right, and she hated it. When had the stupid hanyou gotten so damned _smart_? She stomped her foot again for good measure and stormed back toward the village. Probably heading straight for Kaede's hut to beg off another rosary, Inuyasha thought. With a positively evil grin and a slightly maniacal chuckle, he took to the trees to follow.

* * *

"Kagome, whatever be the matter?" Kaede asked, slightly bewildered as the girl stomped into the hut, looking furious enough to kill … something.

"_Everything!_" Kagome sniffled, holding out the rosary still fisted in her hand. Well, it looked more like a string at the moment; the remaining beads had been lost long ago.

Shippou had been napping, but now he woke at the sound of his surrogate mother's distressed voice. With a nimble leap, he was perched on her shoulder and patting her cheek soothingly with one little paw. She smiled a bit and stroked his hair gratefully. "What's that?" he asked curiously, eyeing the broken string in her hand.

Kagome sniffled again and shuffled nervously. "It _was_ Inuyasha's rosary," she replied gloomily. "It kinda … broke."

"No way!" Shippou yelped. "You mean Dog-breath's _free?"_

He squealed as he suddenly found himself being hoisted into the air by his tail and brought around face-to-face with a grinning Inuyasha.

"Boo."

The hanyou smirked when the little kitsune squealed again. "Kagomeeee! Help me!" he pleaded, trying to squirm free of the tight hold on his tail.

"What're ya lookin' at _her_ for, brat? _I'm_ the one you gotta beg for mercy here!" Inuyasha replied with an evil chuckle.

"Inuyasha, stop bullying Shippou. He's just a child. Please put him down," Kagome sighed.

"Ohhhh, no. This brat's been harassing me for _weeks_ and every time I try to get even I end up eating dirt. Not anymore. Now it's _my_ turn!"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome began warningly.

He just grinned at her. "What're ya gonna do, _sit_ me? Oh, wait. That's right. You _can't_ anymore, can you? _Bwahahahahaha!_" His loud guffaws nearly shook the roof.

"I'm gonna _diiieeee!_" Shippou wailed, hiding his face in his hands.

"Nobody's going to die, Shippou." Kagome sighed again, already weary of the entire ordeal.

Inuyasha just smirked and opened his mouth to contradict her, but froze before he got the first word out. He blinked, and suddenly leaped straight up and to the side, revealing a startled Kaede who had been creeping up behind him, a rosary poised to slide over Inuyasha's head. She blinked at the spot the hanyou had been standing only a moment before.

"Nice try, Baba, but yer gonna have to do better'n that," he snorted. "Sneakin' up from behind? Not playin' very fair, _are_ we?"

"I don't think _you_ have any right to accuse people about not playing fair!" Kagome snapped.

He smirked. "You're just sulkin' 'cause I finally got one over on you. 'Sides, _you_ can't complain, either. Who's the one that collared me with that damned rosary the first chance she got?"

"_That_ would be Kaede."

The elderly miko gulped and abruptly recalled that she had to go collect herbs. Now. From the other side of the village.

"Okay, okay," Inuyasha snorted. "But who's the one that activated the _spell_ first chance she got?"

"_That's 'cause you were trying to_ kill _me!_" Kagome screamed, her face slowly starting to turn a most interesting shade of red; even Shippou was starting to look nervous.

Inuyasha blinked, then puffed out his chest and stuck his nose in the air disdainfully. "That's right, wench," he snarled. "An' don't think for a _second_ I won't try it again if you even _think_ of slappin' another one of those things on me!" He swiped at the air with his claws for emphasis. "I ain't _no__body's_ lapdog, got it?"

Kagome's mouth fell open at the obvious threat in his tone, her eyes widening with shock. "I—You—I can't believe you really said that," she stuttered, clearly disturbed. "I … I know we bicker a lot, but I thought that at least we … were _friends_."

Inuyasha almost winced at the look on her face, as if he'd just offered up some kind of ultimate betrayal, maybe drove his claws into her chest and ripped out her still-beating heart. Inwardly, he cringed at how very _wrong_ that expression looked. Outwardly, however, his mouth was shooting off again without his permission, his next words emerging on a low snarl, "Well, guess maybe you got it all backwards, huh?"

There was a long, forboding silence. Kagome's gaze pierced him, blue-gray eyes haunted, but her expression had shuttered, smoothing into an expressionless mask. He was hard-pressed to keep from squirming beneath that stricken gaze, suddenly wishing he could crawl beneath a rock. His body automatically tensed, readying itself for the pain of a series of well-deserved sits that would never come again. He would have been disgusted with himself if he wasn't so busy cringing.

Finally, after long, tense moments, Kagome licked her lips and shook her head ever-so-slightly. "Guess maybe I did," she whispered, and without another word, turned to walk slowly away.


	3. Damage Control

_Got quite a few faves for this story already, and only three chapters in. Pretty awesome. You know what's even more awesome? Reviews. When I'd originally had this posted, it collected over 1200 of them. It was by far my most popular story. That's pretty freakin' impressive, if you ask me. Wouldn't it be something if this new-and-improved version could beat the old record? ^_~_

_Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own it._

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**Damage Control**

Inuyasha felt guilty.

_ Really_ guilty.

A hell of a lot more guilty than he usually felt, anyway.

Dinner had been a silent, awkward affair in which nobody said anything and everyone spent their time alternating between eating and shooting disapproving, accusing glares at Inuyasha. Well, everyone except for Kagome. _She_ wouldn't even look at him now. She ate quietly, barely acknowledging the hanyou's presence, although she did level reassuring (if not unconvincing) smiles to Shippou from time to time.

Her expression was serious and pensive, eyes dull and lost of their usual laughing sparkle. She didn't look at all like herself. In fact, the more Inuyasha discreetly studied her, the more he couldn't help thinking that she looked disturbingly like Kikyou, what with that permanently depressed look on her face. She wasn't crying, but she looked so miserable that he wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and hide. She reminded him of a kicked puppy, and he'd been the one who'd done the kicking. He wasn't the kind of guy who usually made a habit of wallowing in regret, but right then, if there'd been some way to travel back in time and beat the living shit out of himself for acting like such a jackass, he would've cheerfully done it. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure the well didn't work like that.

As soon as dinner was finished, Kaede headed outside to the wash basin to fill it with heated water from the fire. Kagome excused herself, saying that she had a headache and wanted to sleep. She quietly asked Shippou to help Kaede wash up the dishes in her place. Dishwashing was not something Shippou was very fond of, but rather than complain—for which Inuyasha was thoroughly prepared to trounce the kit if he so much as muttered—he readily agreed to help, and asked if there was anything he could get for her to help the headache go away. She smiled at him kindly and reached to tweak his tail. "Thank you, Shippou, but I think a little rest is all I need. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning."

The fact that she wasn't speaking with her usual cheerful tone wasn't lost on anyone. As soon as she was settled into her bedroll, Shippou turned to fix Inuyasha with a death-glare and bounced a large acorn roughly off the hanyou's head. "You big idiot!" he hissed, baring his tiny fangs. "It's all _your_ fault she's so unhappy!"

Inuyasha growled at him warningly. "Watch it, brat," he snarled. "I wouldn't go pissing me off if I were you. Who's gonna save your sorry hide when I decide to tear it to shreds?"

"First, you threaten to destroy her only way to go home. _Then_ you threaten to actually kill her!" the little fox continued to rant, oblivious to the warning growls vibrating from the hanyou's throat. "No wonder she hates you now! You don't _deserve_ someone as nice as Kagome!"

"_Shut up!_" Inuyasha snarled, and swiped savagely with his claws, just barely missing the kitsune, who squealed in terror and leapt away.

"_Inuyasha!_"

Both hanyou and kitsune froze dead in their tracks at the furious bellow, while a faint crash from outside the house signaled Kaede's own startled reaction.

Kagome stood beside her bedroll, obviously seething, glaring at Inuyasha in a way she'd not done even when he'd threatened to destroy the well. The hanyou gulped silently, sensing that Doom had just been brought down upon his head. Silently, the pissed-off miko-in-training stalked over to him, her eyes boring into his intently. When she was mere inches away from him, she stopped abruptly, raised her hand … and delivered a resounding slap to his face that had him staggering back several paces, his own hand coming up to cradle his reddening cheek in shock. He gaped at her, openmouthed—That slap had actually _hurt!—_too bewildered to do anything but stare.

She stood there with her head lowered so that her long bangs shaded her eyes and most of her expression; her hand, still poised in the air, trembled, its palm bright red from the force of her blow. "You can threaten me," she began in a low, hoarse voice, which was also trembling. "You can bully me all you want, if it makes you feel better for everything you think I've done to you. Maybe I really _am_ nothing but a weak girl if I can't defend myself against you. But understand this."

Her head snapped up suddenly, her eyes locking on him with such a look of cold fury that he had to suppress a shudder. "If you even _dare_ to lay one _finger_ on Shippou, no matter how long it takes or _how_ weak my power is, I _swear_ that I'll use every last ounce of it to seal you back into that tree in a way that nobody will _ever_ be able to wake you up ever again!" Her voice had risen steadily word-by-word, until she was practically shouting in his face, and his sensitive ears flattened against his head in defense. He was starting to look a little nervous, realizing that the girl was deadly serious. Even Shippou was looking a little afraid, having never seen his surrogate mother act like this before.

"Keh!" the hanyou blustered, not at all willing to back down and let the girl figure out just how much her threat was working. "As if I'd waste my time maimin' a worthless brat like him!" He glared suddenly, regaining his courage. "But if you think I'm gonna let him get away with harassin' me, think again, little girl! You don't want me to touch him, then quit coddlin' the brat and keep him away!" Now it was his turn to yell, and she blinked up at him, but he didn't give her a chance to retort before turning on his heel and stalking to the door, leaping off into the night.

Kaede sighed sadly and shook her head as she stared after him.

"Go on, then! Run away, ya big chicken!" Shippou was crowing gleefully. "Just _try_ and—"

"Shippou."

Though softly spoken, the word held an unmistakable command that brought the kitsune's tirade to a stuttering halt. "Wh-what?" he asked uneasily, noting the disapproving frown on her face.

"He's right, you know," Kagome said quietly. "I _do_ coddle you, even though sometimes you do deserve a good beating for the things you do to him."

"B-but he always overreacts—"

"Maybe so, but Shippou, I can't protect you like I used to, and I can't expect _him_ to just put up with your teasing. If you anger him and he strikes out, what could I do to stop him?"

"You can pin him to that tree, like you threatened to!" the kitsune pouted.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Would that be fair to him?" she questioned gently. Shippou's jaw dropped in shock; he hadn't expected her to take the _hanyou's_ side on the matter. Seeing the look, Kagome smiled a little. "Shippou, if Inuyasha hurt you just because he _could_, I'd do everything in my power to stop him, because what's to keep him from hurting anyone else? But if he's merely reacting in self-defense, I can't blame him for lashing out. Everyone lashes out when they're angry or hurt. I-it's a natural reaction." She sighed again. "Please, Shippou, for my sake, will you refrain from teasing Inuyasha anymore? I don't want to have to worry about you on top of everything else. You don't have to be _nice_ to him, but at least stay out of his way. Especially when he's irritated. Don't make him so angry that he _wants_ to hurt you."

Shippou huffed and scuffed one little hind-leg on the floor. "Okay," he grudgingly agreed. "I'll be nicer to Inuyasha. But only 'cause you want me to!"

"Thanks, Shippou." Kagome smiled brightly. "I feel better already. Now, please help Kaede finish the dishes, okay?"

"Okay!" he chirped, bouncing to the wash basin where the bowls were stacked and ready for a good washing.

Kaede sidled up to Kagome as she turned away. She'd been strangely silent all evening, but now it appeared as though she had something to say. Kagome didn't really feel like talking, but out of respect for the elderly woman, she paused to hear her out.

"I must say, child, that ye have a good heart, to so readily defend Inuyasha. Have ye forgiven him for what he has done?"

"How can I forgive him if he isn't even sorry?" Kagome's tone held no small amount of bitterness, and her expression darkened. "There's a part of me that can accept why he's acting this way. I suppose if I'd been under a spell like that, I'd be gloating in my freedom, too. But the things he said to me, what he tried to do … it _hurt_, Kaede." Her face crumpled slightly. "When he'd worn the rosary, as much as he resented it, he'd seemed so much more … _caring_ in the way he treated me. I know he was rude, and blunt, and downright obnoxious at times, but he'd never been so … _cruel_ before. I'd always thought that he liked me just a _little_ bit. But, now I think I've only been fooling myself into hoping for something that … just wasn't _there_."

"Inuyasha's heart is also good, although he hides it well. He does not understand how to show gentleness to others, even to those he cares about. This comes from having nobody to care for _him_ for most of his life," Kaede stated. "But now this has changed, has it not? Ye care for him a great deal."

Kagome swallowed around the growing lump in her throat. "I cared about the Inuyasha I knew from the moment the rosary was slipped over his head," she replied bitterly. "But, now … it's like he's _broken_ or something, just like the spell. I can't _see_ him anymore. _This_ Inuyasha is … a stranger. I … I remember him from _before_ the spell." Her head lowered, long hair flowing forward to hide her profile. "This Inuyasha … he _scares_ me, Kaede," she whispered. "Maybe it's stupid to feel that way, but I … I just can't help it. Maybe he's right in not letting me go near the well." She swallowed again, arms wrapping around her thin frame, as though against a chill. "I … I think that … if I actually went home this time, I'd never be able to make myself come back again, promises or no." She flashed a small, sad smile at the elderly miko, bowed once, and climbed into her bedroll in obvious dismissal.

Kaede sighed again, her shoulders slumping as she turned to make her way slowly to the fire. She suddenly felt twice her age. "And now ye know, Inuyasha," she murmured, knowing full well the hanyou was close by, eavesdropping from wherever he'd chosen to hide himself. "Now ye know what sort of damage words can cause in a maiden's heart. I hope ye can find thine _own_ heart, before ye break hers completely."

* * *

_And did I mention this story contains angst? Lots and lots of angst. With maybe a little humor thrown in here and there to spice things up a bit. Oh, and there's romance in there, too. Somewhere or other._

_Review?_


	4. Shattered

**Chapter Four**

**Shattered**

Kaede had been right in her assumption that Inuyasha was close by and listening. He was, in fact, sprawled out on the roof of the hut, well within hearing range for that conversation, and he did not like what he heard at all.

Quite frankly, he didn't know _who_ he was madder at. Kagome, for not trusting him, for actually be _afraid_ of him—And after everything they'd already been through together, too!—or himself for making her feel that way in the first place. But damn it! It wasn't like he'd never threatened her before! He did it all the time, and she usually just blew it off or sat him a few times and after a few hours of sulking on his part, everything was back to normal again.

Well … except she _couldn't_ sit him anymore, he remembered uneasily, and maybe that was the entire problem.

He frowned up at the sky, hands pillowed behind his head as he watched the twilight fade into the blackness of night. She hadn't really meant all that, had she? She was just upset 'cause he wouldn't let her go home and he'd made her break her promise to her brother. He scowled and shifted uncomfortably. Keh! Stupid girl! She ought to know he'd never kill her! After all, who would help him collect the shards if she was gone? They both knew she was the only one who could see them, so even if he _did_ threaten her she _ought_ to know not to take it seriously! Inuyasha scowled some more, filled with righteous indignation.

He couldn't maintain it, however, as memories of the sadness in Kagome's voice kept trying to creep back to him.

_H__e'd never been so … cruel before._

_ I'd always thought that he liked me just a little bit._

_ But, now I think I've only been fooling myself into hoping for something that … just wasn't there._

The hanyou's ears drooped. He hated it, but he couldn't stop the regret from surfacing and it was all he could do to keep from punching a hole through the roof as his _own_ words began to haunt him. He cringed; maybe he'd been a bit unnecessarily cruel. He supposed he couldn't blame Kagome _too_ much for her reaction, but he'd only been giving her what was coming to her for being so cruel to _him_ all that time! After all, _friends_ didn't try to break each other's backs over the least little offense, did they? He pouted a moment, then sighed heavily. Still, what was said was said, and there wasn't much he could do about it now. He wasn't about to change his mind about the well, anyway, especially after what Kagome'd just said. No way was he gonna chance letting her go in and possibly seal the well after her or something! Her grandfather didn't worry him, but _she_ was getting a bit stronger in her powers, so who knew if she'd be able to succeed where the old man couldn't.

His huffed and turned on his side, then switched to the other, restless. On the other hand, there was no way he'd be able to handle Kagome acting so depressed. It was the only thing that could chop away at his defenses. That _look_ on her face drove him to distraction, and he'd do almost anything to replace it with her usual sunny smile. Maybe he could be a little lenient, just this once. Maybe, instead of making her stay until the jewel was completed, he'd only make her stay until they found another fragment or something.

His ears pricked. Yeah, _that_ was an idea! They could go on a schedule. He sat up, mind working. For every two or three shards they found, he'd let her go back to her time and see her family. He'd go with her, of course; no sense taking any chances, after all. And they'd stay only long enough to stock up on supplies (like that great ramen stuff). No more of this school crap Kagome was always harpin' on. What did she need it for, anyway? She seemed plenty smart to him already!

The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him, and he couldn't keep the smug grin from passing over his lips as he puffed out his chest. When he told her his plan, she'd definitely cheer up! He was being quite generous, after all, and maybe this would make her realize that being afraid of him was silly. At the very least, she'd realize he wasn't the cold-hearted bastard she seemed to think he was. He could be perfectly reasonable when he set his mind to it.

Why even wait until tomorrow? Why not tell her right now?

He gracefully hopped to his feet and leaped effortlessly to the ground, stepping inside the house and padding silently toward Kagome's bed. The other two were asleep, given Kaede's heavy breathing and Shippou's faint snores, but Kagome was still awake; he could easily see that her eyes were open, glittering in the faint light as she stared up at the ceiling, hands folded over her stomach. He sidled over to her, careful not to wake anyone up.

Sensing his presence, Kagome bolted up with a startled gasp, staring up at him through wide eyes. He could hear her breath sawing in and out of parted lips in short, panicked gasps. She looked scared, which made him irritated, and he scowled. "I ain't gonna bite your head off, idiot," he growled. "Calm down."

She swallowed, hard, and slowly eased herself into a more comfortable position. A position, he noted uneasily, that would allow her to bolt at a moment's notice, should the need arise. His irritation rose, but he held it fiercely in check. "I wanna talk to you," he whispered, settling himself beside her cross-legged.

"About what?" Even whispering, he could hear the distinct tremble in her voice. He clenched his hands inside his haori sleeves.

"Look, I know you're pissed about the well, so I thought it over, and I decided maybe making you stay until the jewel is completed is a bit overkill," he mumbled gruffly. She didn't speak, but he could sense she was listening. "So, instead of that, you only gotta wait until we get a couple of the shards. Then you can go back—but _only_ if I go with you—so you can see your family and restock supplies. Soon as that's done we go back, look for more shards, and then you can go visit again in another few weeks or months or whatever. Least your family won't worry that way."

There was absolute silence for a long moment. Then, in a strained voice, Kagome asked, "What about school?"

"Keh. You don't need it. The jewel's a hell of a lot more important than your school stuff."

"I beg to differ," she replied tightly. "I wouldn't expect someone like _you_ to understand, but in my world if I don't have an education, I don't have any kind of a future."

He bristled at that. "You should be grateful I'm even lettin' you have _this_ much," he snapped, glaring at her furiously. "I can still change my mind, ya know!"

"I should be grateful." Her voice was filled with disbelief. "_I_ should be _grateful?_" She slammed her fists against the coverlet and glared at him furiously. "Just where do you think you get _off_, you overbearing, arrogant, self-centered, stuck-up son of a _pig_?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped as he regarded her in openmouthed shock. This wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to be _yelling_ at him. She was supposed to be happy that he was being so _generous_ and—

His thoughts stuttered to a halt as she scrambled to her feet and began to pace the room furiously. Shippou and Kaede stirred at the sudden ruckus. "Y-you're acting like a complete _ass_, trying to control _my_ _life_ for _your_ stupid jewel that, quite frankly, I don't give _any_ kind of a damn about except that I'm the one who broke it, and you have the absolute _gall_ to tell me I should _thank_ you for it?" She whirled around to glare at him furiously, her eyes snapping. She didn't seem so afraid of him now. She just seemed downright _pissed_. "You just don't _get_ it, do you?" She shook her head, and he was shocked to see tears glittering in her eyes. "Get out," she hissed, pointing a shaking finger at the door. "Get out of here right now, or so _help_ me, I'll—"

"_Fine!_" Inuyasha growled, his fists clenching so hard that his claws drove into his palms. He didn't even feel the sting. "I was tryin' to be nice, but if that's how you're gonna be then _forget_ it! I could care less about your stupid family! Let 'em think you're dead! _Who cares?_" He was snarling in her face, advancing toward her while she backed away from him, until she hit the wall. Her anger was fading rapidly in the face of his wrath, and she wondered if maybe this time she'd overdone it, allowing her temper to get the better of her. When he slapped the palm of his hand against the wood, she cringed away, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the claws to pierce her skin.

The action brought Inuyasha's tirade to an abrupt halt as he watched her cowering before him, his hand only an inch away from her face. The anger melted from his expression as he gazed at her with faint horror, suddenly realizing what he was doing. When had things gotten so out of control? He'd only been trying to help … but somehow he'd managed to end up terrifying her all over again. _It's her fault,_ he thought angrily. _It's completely her fault! If she's afraid, good! I tried to be nice!_

But the guilt continued to punch a hole in his gut.

With a muttered curse, he ripped his hand away, leaving a bloody smear on the wall, and turned to flee the room, practically bowling over a worried Kaede and Shippou on the way out. Kaede watched him in concern for a moment, then turned to find Kagome crouched against the wall, shaking slightly as she stared off into space. When Kaede laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, she jumped violently, turning glazed, tearful eyes up at the motherly face. Kagome's expression crumpled, and without a word, she threw herself into Kaede's arms and began to sob hysterically, while the elderly miko and the little kitsune attempted futilely to soothe her.

Within the forest, an enraged hanyou took out his frustration on the hapless trees, tearing them to shreds as he fought himself into exhaustion. When he finally could fight no more, he flopped down on the grassy earth and stared through dry, hot eyes at the whirling sky above, his thoughts tormented as Kagome's stricken face flashed through his mind over and over.

Would it ever be the same, he wondered wearily. Would things ever be the same between himself and Kagome, or had their fragile bond—their friendship—already shattered beyond repair?

* * *

*cough* _Yeah... Angst, angst, angst. Inuyasha no baka!_


	5. Off Her Game

_Thanks for the reviews/faves. Keep 'em coming. :)_

* * *

**Chapter Five  
Off Her Game**

The weather was a perfect match for the sullen moods of the little group of adventurers the next morning. The sky was overcast, dreary and gray, and a chilly mist threatened at every moment to turn into a drizzle, dampening everything it touched. Kagome shivered as she stared glumly up at the shifting clouds, wanting nothing more than to be at home relaxing in a hot bath or maybe reading one of the few manga she owned, or even studying for one of her many tests … anything but be where she was.

Kaede had awakened her early in the morning, stating that Inuyasha had detected the scent of a demon heading toward the village … no doubt looking for the shards Kagome carried. The demon, whatever it was, was still a good day away from them, so Kagome had reluctantly suggested that they head off to find it before it found the village. Inuyasha was right about one thing; there was no way she was going to allow the inhabitants get caught in the crossfire of the battle that was sure to come.

Shippou hopped onto the top of her bag, eager to go as he always was. But Kagome frowned and pulled him down into her arms. "Not this time," she told him quietly. "I'd like you to stay here, Shippou. Okay?"

He gawped at her. "But … but I always come!" he whined, his eyes growing large and liquid with hurt.

She sighed. "I know. But this time … I'd like you to stay behind. I don't think …" She trailed off and glanced at Inuyasha, who was lounging on the branch of a nearby tree and deliberately ignoring them. "I don't think," she continued softly, "that it's a good idea for you to come along. With the circumstances being as … uncomfortable as they are."

"That's why I gotta come!" the kitsune protested. "I gotta protect you from Inuyasha! What if he goes nuts on you?"

"I'm his shard detector. He won't … hurt me as long as I'm useful." Her voice was faintly laced with bitterness and just a trace of doubt, but she did her best to look cheerful for Shippou's sake. "What I'd really like is for you to stay and help Kaede. I always worry about everyone when we're gone. It would really make me feel a lot better to know that there's a strong kitsune protecting the village in Inuyasha's place."

"R-really?" Shippou looked doubtful, but he fluffed his tail with a bit of unconscious pride. "A-are you sure you'd be okay? Being alone with … him?"

"I can take care of myself. I do have my bow and arrows with me, remember, and I'm becoming quite the excellent shot!" She smiled faintly. "No worries, right?"

Shippou sighed. "Well, okay. If it's what you really want," he reluctantly agreed. Kagome smiled and nodded, and he hopped down from her arms and plodded back to Kaede's side.

"Take care of thyself, Kagome," the elderly miko instructed kindly, regarding the girl with a fond smile. "Come back to us safely. The both of ye."

"Thank you, Kaede. We will," Kagome replied, bowing to her politely. She hitched her bag over her shoulders, and Kaede helped her adjust its weight across her back. She picked up her bike, climbed on rather stiffly (the chill had a most annoying way of tightening one's joints, especially when one hadn't slept well the night before), and pedaled off toward the forest with Inuyasha darting from tree to tree above her.

Kaede and Shippo watched them disappear past the borders of the village before the kitsune sighed heavily and hung his head. The miko picked him up and patted his hair reassuringly. "Come then, kitling. Keep thy chin up. Kagome will be fine."

"I shoulda gone with her," Shippou mumbled, pouting at the ground.

"It is best that ye stayed behind this time," Kaede replied.

"Why? 'Cause dog-breath woulda ate me or something?" the kitsune retorted. "I can take care of myself! It's Kagome I'm worried about! I mean … we shouldn't have let her go off with him acting like that! What if he actually tries to hurt her or something? She sure seemed to think he would last night!"

"Kagome is as safe in Inuyasha's hands as she has ever been," Kaede replied soothingly. "The best of friends have their quarrels, but it does not mean they are no longer friends. In Inuyasha and Kagome's case, it may be there is even more of a bond than mere friendship, although getting either of them to admit it would be an impossibility."

"Yeah. They're both way too stubborn," the fox grumbled, causing Kaede to chuckle a little.

"For such a little thing, ye see wisely in the matters of the heart," she teased. "Come then. There are herbs to gather, and I believe the rabbit snares have not been checked recently. Perhaps some fresh stew for breakfast will help us take our minds off their worries for a bit, eh?"

Shippou's face lit up. "Yeah!" he crowed, leaping from Kaede's shoulder and scrambling away on all fours toward the snares. Kaede smiled as she started after him. At least one of them would forget their worries for awhile.

* * *

They'd been traveling for well over three hours now, without taking a break, and Kagome was starting to feel the strain. She had always considered herself to be fit and healthy, but biking non-stop over rough, unpaved terrain was bound to take its toll on even the heartiest biker, and she was in no way close to being a champion. Still, her pride refused to allow her to ask for a rest. For one thing, she was positive Inuyasha wouldn't give it to her. And if he did, it wouldn't be without a lot of ridicule, which she really didn't feel like dealing with at the moment.

Luck was on their side so far as the weather was concerned. Though the mist still refused to clear, and it was still chilly and damp, the rain that threatened did not arrive. It would've been unbearable if she'd had to ride through the slippery mud on top of everything else. Something, she suspected, that Inuyasha would have greatly enjoyed watching.

During these expeditions, if a situation (like bad weather) called for it, she would often take a place on Inuyasha's back, allowing the powerful hanyou to carry her over the treetops in an exhilarating (and a little terrifying) ride to whatever location they happened to be headed for. But of course, as they didn't seem to be on speaking terms at the moment, she wasn't about to ask him to do that. Besides, the jerk would probably drop her or something, she thought peevishly, scowling at the terrain in front of her as her wheel jolted against another rock. She had to wonder if her bike would survive this trip, although it had survived many others. But wouldn't it just be the ultimate irony for one of her wheels to go flat, right at a time when Inuyasha would probably make her walk the rest of the way out of pure spite? Fate had a morbid sense of humor that way.

She cast a weary, disparaging look to the hanyou leaping easily through the air above her, looking almost as if he was truly flying with his long, silver hair floating about his form like some kind of apparition. It constantly amazed her how graceful he was, when everything about him suggested he should be as bumbling and uncouth as his mouth usually was. She sighed sadly, remembering how he'd looked the night before. He'd been like … well … like a demon. He'd terrified her, and she hated him for making her lose her strength like that, for doubting them both. Her gaze was wistful as she watched him leap to yet another branch and pause, swaying slightly with the branch's movements.

It had only been a day. A single day since the prayer beads had broken. How had things turned around so quickly since then? Those rare, precious times, when he had regarded her with gentleness in his eyes and spoken with kindness in his voice … would she ever see those times again? Did he really hate her that much, now that he could?

Her wheel jolted suddenly beneath yet another rock, causing her to yelp in surprise, struggling hard to keep from skidding out of control. She thought she heard the hanyou in the trees above her snicker, and bit back an angry retort even though she could feel her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. Pressing her tired body onward, she forced dark thoughts from her mind and sought to concentrate instead on the rough path ahead of her.

* * *

They found the youkai much sooner than they'd expected.

Or rather, it found them.

Inuyasha barely had time to give a shout of warning before a huge, black shape came hurtling out of the trees directly before them, causing Kagome to shriek in surprise and skid to a halt, the sudden stop toppling her bike-over-heels to land with a painful thud on the ground. She was aware of the jolting pain shooting through her left side due to the force of that impact, but quite frankly, she was far more concerned about the threat currently looming over her head than she was about a possible broken leg or two.

It was, quite frankly, the biggest viper that Kagome had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

And it had a large jewel fragment imbedded in each of its three eyes. Her eyes widened. How in the world hadn't she sensed that before now? She must be really off her game. The power those things were putting out probably had every youkai in the country on full alert, and no doubt heading right for them. "Make this quick. It's got shards!" she called. "It'll probably bring company!"

Inuyasha cursed as the snake youkai's long, sinuous body thrashed madly about, snapping the thick branches off ancient, gnarled trees like matchwood as it reared up, towering over its prey by a good twenty feet. The scales on its hide glimmered like black pearls, deadly and beautiful. Its jaws gaped open to reveal two glistening fangs as long and thick as Kagome's arm, dripping with smoking venom. Eyes the color of rubies glowed with bloodlust, focused on her with unnerving, unblinking clarity, and the hiss that erupted from its throat made her long to scramble under the nearest bush. Kagome was by no means the bravest warrior, and it was all she could do to keep from passing out right then and there. She had never liked snakes much to begin with.

"Idiot! What're you just sittin' there for? Get outta the way!" Inuyasha barked sharply as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga, which immediately transformed into its larger counterpart.

His voice shocked Kagome back into her senses, and she hurriedly scrambled out of what she hoped was the viper's immediate attack range, managing to ignore the pain in her leg. However, her sudden, frantic movements did nothing but draw the snake's attention back to her, and it hissed again, long tongue flickering as it scented the air.

It seemed to catch wind of the jewel fragments Kagome wore around her neck, and the sight of them drove it mad. It thrashed wildly again, the muscles in its sleek, shining body contracting powerfully as it slithered forward. It seemed to grow even bigger, then, and she realized with horror that it was preparing to strike. When it did, she doubted she'd even see it. Just one of those fangs was long enough to pierce her through. She didn't even need to be worried about the obvious poison; she'd be too dead to feel its affects.

There came a loud curse, and suddenly Inuyasha was there, crouched in front of her protectively with the Tetsusaiga raised in defense. "How many shards, Kagome?" he growled, glaring at the viper as though daring it to make a move.

"Th-three," she stammered. "I-in its eyes. Inuyasha, we can't—You can't beat this thing! It's too quick! With the added power of the shards—"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, wench," he growled, never taking his eyes from the threat. "I ain't as weak as you think I am!"

She gritted her teeth in irritation. Of all the pig-headed, stuck-up—If she still could, and if they weren't in such obvious danger, she would've sat him for that attitude! But he's gonna get himself killed, she thought desperately. Even though they weren't on the best of terms at the moment, the last thing she wanted to see was those fangs impaling his body. She'd never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to him!

The viper hissed a third time, and Inuyasha growled in response. Then, before Kagome could even think to stop him—or even comprehend his plan—he'd braced himself and was giving a single, powerful leap straight up and into the viper's descending mouth.


	6. Treachery

_See? I told you I had some longer chapters._  
_Disclaimer: Don't own the series, just the story.  
_

* * *

**Chapter ****Six**

**Treachery**

Everything happened so swiftly the eye could barely follow, yet so slowly it seemed like minutes were passing rather than mere seconds. Kagome tried to scream, but no sound escaped her open mouth as Inuyasha soared with fluid grace into the mouth of death, only to twist mid-air, switching directions at the last possible second. The viper's jaws snapped shut only millimeters behind him; seizing the chance, he twisted again and brought Tetsusaiga down on the youkai's head with all his strength, trying to sever it, but it was no use. The snake was just too fast as it dodged to the side in a blur of movement. Sparks flew where Tetsusaiga's blade grazed the glittering scales. How could something that huge, Kagome wondered dazedly, be that confounded _fast_?

Inuyasha struck again, and again the viper dodged the transformed sword; almost lazily, it seemed. Kagome was getting the distinct impression that the monster was merely toying with him. Eventually, its amusement would vanish, and then things would turn _really_ dangerous.

Without taking her eyes off the youkai, she patted blindly around until she came upon her weapons. Miraculously, the bow had survived her rough landing and hadn't snapped, but the same couldn't be said for most of the delicate arrows. She muttered a curse under her breath as she touched the splintered end of an arrow. Only four of them had survived. She would have to make every shot count.

Grimly, she notched an arrow and aimed in the general direction of the battle. Her marksmanship was still pathetic at best—When she actually managed to hit something, vital it was due more to dumb luck than actual skill—but she had to help Inuyasha. Mad or not, she wasn't about to let him fight alone.

The viper's head moved into her line of sight, its entire attention focused solely on the hanyou. It seemed to have forgotten her existence, or maybe just didn't consider her a serious threat. Wouldn't be the first time she'd been underestimated. Muttering a quick prayer for luck, Kagome loosed the glowing arrow and let it fly … just as a blur of red appeared directly in its path. She released a short scream of alarm, which was enough to alert Inuyasha of the impending danger. He turned just in time for the arrow whisper past his nose, yelping in surprise. "Idiot! Where're you aiming?" He glared down at her, momentarily distracted.

"_You're_ the one who got in _my_ way!" Kagome yelled back. "I almost _had_ it before you—_Look__out!_"

Her scream of warning came too late as a thick, coiled tail whipped down across the hanyou's back, bringing him to the forest floor with a resounding crash of broken branches and flattened shrubbery. "Inuyasha!" she shrieked, loosing another arrow at the youkai. The glowing projectile struck the viper in the head, only to bounce harmlessly off of its scaled hide in a shower of sparks.

"No good!" Inuyasha was miraculously on his feet again, grunting as he leapt into the trees and back toward the viper's head. "The scales are too hard! Everything bounces off, even Tetsusaiga!"

"Then how are we supposed to _defeat_ it?"

"How the hell should I know?" Inuyasha barked, blocking the lashing tail with his sword. "Aim for its eyes or somethin'!"

"I only have two arrows left! The rest broke when I fell off the bike!" she admitted.

He cursed fluently. "There's gotta be a soft spot on this thing!" He slashed at the viper's eye with Tetsusaiga. It hissed, preparing to strike. Inuyasha's eyes widened in realization, and he tensed expectantly. "Okay, you overfed worm. You wanna take a bite outta me? Come and _get_ it then!"

"What are you _saying_? Have you lost your _mind_?" Kagome shrieked.

"Shut up! I know what I'm doin'!" Inuyasha would have kept talking, but the viper chose that moment to strike viciously. He cursed and dodged. Not out of the way, but directly into the creature's gaping maw, bringing Tetsusaiga up and jamming it into the soft flesh inside its upper jaw. There was a fierce shriek and the youkai reared back, head swinging violently from side to side as blood and venom flew. Its mouth was locked open due to Tetsusaiga jammed vertically into its jaw, and immediately Kagome realized what Inuyasha had done.

"Okay," she muttered grimly, notching her third arrow and aiming it for the exposed inner throat of the huge serpent. She hesitated; it was thrashing so violently that she couldn't get a decent shot off, and she didn't have much ammunition left.

"What're you waitin' for?" Inuyasha snapped. "Tetsusaiga ain't gonna hold forever, and if it winds up in that snake's stomach, I'm takin' it outta _your_ hide!"

"You jerk! It isn't my fault!" she yelled. "It keeps _moving!_ I can't get a good aim!"

Muttering under his breath, Inuyasha leaped nimbly onto the viper's back, just behind its head, and used his momentum and weight to drag it to the forest floor. His claws sliced through a large tree on the way down, sending the thick, heavy trunk plummeting onto the snake and effectively pinning it to the ground … for a short time, anyway. The huge head landed only feet away from Kagome's position, and she could smell the hot, sharp scent of poisonous miasma waft over her. She gagged, choking on the burning fumes, vision blurring. But she had a clear, open shot now, and she took it.

The loosed arrow arched gracefully into the wide-open mouth of the struggling youkai … and ricocheted off Tetsusaiga with a sharp _ting_ before imbedding itself into a nearby sapling, quivering with the force of the impact.

"_You __idiot!_" Inuyasha screamed, but Kagome ignored him, already drawing her fourth and final arrow and stepping as close to the creature as she dared. The viper tried to lunge, but the tree across its neck kept it from getting too far. Still, the evil gleam in its disturbingly-lucid eyes was enough to make her shudder, knowing what would happen if that snake _did_ manage to free itself. Those fangs were still deadly, jammed-open or not, and no doubt being crushed to death from the powerful, corded body would be just as painful. Inuyasha was yelling at her again, this time for being too close to danger for his comfort. Again, she ignored him as she drew back her final arrow and took careful aim.

This time it flew true, imbedding itself deep in the throat of the youkai and flaring brilliantly upon impact. The huge, thrashing body went absolutely rigid for a moment, before the viper abruptly reared, its fury and pain lending it a burst of strength that overpowered the tree holding it down. Inuyasha threw himself at Kagome and yanked her out of the way just as the trunk came crashing down right where she'd been standing. The youkai, in the meantime, was convulsing and from its ruined throat emerged horrible noises that sounded disturbingly like the shrieks of a woman in agony.

The cracks between its scales were starting to glow with deadly, purifying light as the holy arrow continued its work. The light grew brighter and brighter, until suddenly the youkai exploded, chunks of steaming flesh and strips of scaled skin raining down on the area in a bloody rain. A very dangerous rain, the viper's thick blood being just as toxic as its poison, hissing wherever it touched the ground and melting the leaves and wood of the surrounding trees. Inuyasha cursed and yanked Kagome to him, dragging her beneath a thickly-branched tree and pulling them both to the ground, where he proceeded to curl her beneath him and pull his heavy, fire-rat haori over his head and around her to protect them both from the steaming liquid.

Kagome couldn't help blushing at the sudden embrace, her heart kicking into overdrive. It was stupid to get excited, she knew. He was only making sure his shard detector didn't melt into a puddle of goo. But his arms held her tightly, protectively against his body. His thick, soft hair caressed her face in a fall of pale silver. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes and daring to rest her head against his chest. She forgot that she was angry with him. She forgot that he probably hated her, that she was only good to him only as long as she could see his precious shards. The universe narrowed until it existed of nothing but his embrace, his heated breath wafting across her ear, his heart beating strongly against her cheek. She relished in it, wanted nothing more than for time to stand still.

Of course, time insisted on plodding forward, and too soon, Inuyasha lifted his head to cautiously scent the air, making sure the deadly rain had ceased. "That was weird," he muttered, standing gingerly to work out abused muscles. "They never _exploded_ before." He glanced down at the girl still cradled protectively in his arms; she was watching him silently, her expression unreadable through the faint flush spreading across her nose and cheeks. He blinked, then released her so abruptly that she stumbled and nearly fell over. "Well, where the hell did the shards go?" he barked, turning to hide his own rising blush. "Don't just stand there like a ninny. Make yourself useful and look for 'em!"

There was a moment of silence from behind, and he wondered if she was ignoring him again. He was just getting ready to turn around and yell some more when something hard abruptly smacked off the back of his head. He yelped in surprise and whirled furiously. "What the hell was that for?"

"Y-you jerk!" she yelled, picking up another pinecone to throw _that_ one at him, too.

"Oi!" he snapped, knocking it aside. "What's the matter with you?"

"You're so heartless! Find them yourself!" With that, Kagome turned on her heel and stomped to her bike. Well, more like limped; he noticed belatedly that she'd been injured, a dark, ugly bruise forming behind her left knee. He growled. Stupid girl had probably twisted it or something, which meant she was useless to ride that damned contraption of hers.

Not that she could, anyway. The bike was pretty much ruined, as she discovered when she attempted to pick it up. The front tire rim was all bent out of shape, the tire itself completely flat with an obvious tear in the tough rubber. On top of that, parts of the frame had melted, having been exposed to the youkai's acidic poison. She wondered if her pack had fared any better, but it was doubtful. The horrible day was growing even more horrible, and she had to fight the urge to break down for a good cry then and there. Inuyasha hated it when she cried, and he already despised her enough as it was. So, biting back tears, she limped her way around the clearing and trained her eyes on the youkai's remains to locate the shards.

The first two were easily found. They were still in the eyes, and Kagome had dealt with enough gore that extracting them from the cold, unblinking orbs wasn't as stomach-churning as it used to be. Inuyasha, of course, didn't help, having gone off looking for Tetsusaiga, which had been flung into the forest. She found she couldn't be too mad over it, since he'd risked his precious sword to defeat the enemy in the first place.

No matter how hard she searched, however, the third shard remained well and truly hidden. It must have been blown well out of the area when the youkai exploded; she could only pray and hope that the shard hadn't been blown to bits along with it, or Inuyasha would _never_ forgive her. In the meantime, it was growing darker and darker, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Her knee was also starting to throb painfully, now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

Her pack had miraculously escaped the carnage, having landed against the trunk of a tree that had acted as a very sturdy shield. She sat stiffly on the fallen tree that had held the viper prisoner and dug through the ratty bag in search of her first-aid kit and a bottle of painkillers.

Her medicinal supplies were distressingly low, she noted with a frown. She'd have to go back home soon to—Oh. Wait. Her shoulders slumped as memory returned. Go home? Yeah, right. Not if Inuyasha had anything to say about it. And recently, he had quite a lot to say about it. If she ever saw her family again before the jewel was completed (which would be _never_ if she couldn't find that damned shard!), it would be a miracle. The thought sent a wave of depression over her and she slumped forward, resting her elbows on her knees until a jolt of pain shot through the left one, reminding her of what had started all these depressing thoughts in the first place. She sniffled, feeling the burning in her nose and sharp stinging in her eyes that always heralded a long bout of crying. And, since Inuyasha wasn't there, she slid down the log, buried her face in her knees (ignoring the pain, which she couldn't do anything about anyway), and gave in.

That was where Inuyasha found her nearly half an hour later, when he finally came crashing through the brush looking disgruntled, disheveled, and generally pissed off at having been made to go tramping through the trees looking for his precious sword. He muttered curses under his breath as he pulled stray twigs out of his hair and several burrs from his hakama, wanting nothing more than to have a good yell at someone. Namely, a specific someone, who (he had thoroughly convinced himself) had it coming for making that bloody youkai pop in the first place! Best of all, he could yell and scream and insult her all he wanted, and she couldn't do a damned thing about it, a fact that he was dying to rub in her face yet again.

All thoughts of yelling, however, fled when he scanned the area and found her small, crumpled form laying still as death among the rubble of youkai and shattered trees. His breath rushed from his body as if he'd just been punched. All he could do was stare in disbelief as his mind fought to process what his eyes were telling him. When he finally reached the conclusion that, yes, it _was_ Kagome and yes, she _did_ seem to be unconscious, he uttered a curse and leapt to her side in a single bound.

The salty scent of her tears reached him before he reached her, causing his heart to lurch violently like it always did when she cried. He knelt carefully beside the prone girl, who had huddled back into the log as far as she could, as though seeking warmth from the damp wood and even damper earth beneath. She was a mess. Her clothes were torn and dirty and her skin wasn't much better, coated with mud and blood that seeped from innumerable scrapes and scratches. Her hair was a tangled knot, and her white face held vivid bruises beneath her eyes. Tear-tracks streaked through the dirt, still damp, and her nose was a bit swollen and red.

One hand clenched tight into a fist, as if holding something precious. He gently picked the soft little hand up and pried her fingers open carefully to reveal two glistening shards nestled in her palm. He gazed at them for a moment in relief before abruptly frowning in realization. Wait … only two? Where was the third? What did the girl think she was doing, sleeping when there was still a shard to be found? Who knew _what_ might happen to it if some other stray youkai came along and found it before they did, and it could be anywhere!

Still, even as these annoyed thoughts crossed his mind, Inuyasha gazed down at the clearly-exhausted girl and realized he couldn't stay angry. She had, after all, worked hard to find the two that she held, and the fact that she hadn't found the third was clearly distressing her. It was probably the reason for her tears, he mused. She probably thought he would be angry with her for not finding it, and he had to admit he hadn't done much recently to make her believe otherwise. He was a little annoyed, but he supposed the shard would be safe enough wherever it was until they could find it.

At the moment, it was getting colder and the light was failing. The dark didn't bother _him_, of course. He could see just fine, and a little cold air wouldn't kill him. But Kagome—being the frail, weak human that she was—would probably catch some illness and end up dying on him if he didn't get her warmed up. He muttered to himself and stood, kicking rubble out of the way as he cleared a small circle for them to set up camp. Weeks on the road had taught him how to build a proper campfire, having been forced to help set camp on more than one occasion under the threat of a sitting. Now he put the knowledge to use, lining a small circle with stones and filling the ring with wood and underbrush to burn. He wished heartily that Shippou was with them, since the kit always lit the fire and helped gather the wood. With the fox gone and Kagome out of commission, Inuyasha was forced to do all the work by himself, which irritated him to no end.

Kagome kept a watertight plastic bag in her pack for non-waterproof things, such as her very useful matchsticks and something she called a lighter. He now dug these out and stared at them for a moment, trying to remember how she'd used them. Examining the lighter, he set his thumb against what appeared to be a lever and pushed, and nearly dropped the thing when a tiny flame flickered to life, nearly burning him. Trying again, he lowered the wavering flame down to the pile of grass and held it there until it started smoking and the flame spread.

He had some difficulty keeping it lit. Everything was damp and would not burn easily, but Inuyasha was nothing if not determined, and soon a large and merry blaze was going that could warm the life right back into a corpse. Feeling justifiably proud of himself, Inuyasha pulled out Kagome's sleeping bag and unrolled it close to the fire, then dug around in search of her cooking utensils and his favorite ramen she always seemed to have on hand. Unfortunately, though the utensils were found, the ramen was not, and he pouted a little when the thought occurred that—since he wasn't letting Kagome go home any time soon—it would be quite awhile before he got a taste of it again.

He dug through the bag, searching the very bottom (just in case he'd missed something), and frowned when he touched something smooth, round, and disturbingly familiar. His claws closed over the object and he yanked it from the bag. He was astounded to find himself holding a beaded rosary, just like the one he'd worn before. He gaped, wondering if he was hallucinating. Hadn't he warned her what would happen if she thought about slipping one on him again? Didn't she _believe_ him? His brows knit together and a low growl rumbled as his fingers tightened convulsively, turning a burning, golden gaze to the culprit still lying in deep slumber not five feet away.

He felt unaccountably betrayed. Even knowing how much he'd hated being collared, she'd _still_ snuck another rosary along? When had she planned on using it? Didn't she know it was fruitless; he'd smell the magic long before she got it over his head! Was she so desperate to get him back under her control that she'd risk her very freedom to do it?

As if sensing the dark storm brooding on the horizon, Kagome shifted, her face pulling into a grimace as she turned onto her back and slowly opened her eyes. She sat up stiffly and groaned with the effort, her entire body screaming at her to go back to sleep. But she was cold, and hungry … and she really had to go to the bathroom. Besides, the pain in her knee was even more distracting than the pain in her full bladder, driving sleep from her unwilling body. She rubbed at her eyes with a dirty hand, looking around blearily until her gaze came to rest upon Inuyasha, who crouched over her bag, staring back at her in a manner fixed to scald a cat.

She froze, every instinct suddenly screaming that to move now would be a very, _very_ bad idea. "I-Inu…ya…sha?" she asked hesitantly, wondering what on earth had happened to put such an expression on his face. Whatever it was, _she_ wasn't guilty! She'd been fast asleep, for pity's sake! Then her gaze fell upon his fisted hand and the beaded necklace dangling from it. Her brow furrowed as she sought to remember why it looked so familiar. Then it hit her, and her lips parted in a startled O as her eyes widened in surprise.

"That's right, wench. Figure it out yet?" the hanyou snarled, every word dripping with cold fury. "Did ya think it'd be so easy? Plannin' to slip it around my neck when I'm asleep? What? How'd you plan on gettin' it on me, huh? You're more stupid than I thought! What'd I tell you would happen if you even thought of collarin' me with one of these things again, huh? _Huh?_" He was shouting by the time he finished, shaking his fist at her and glaring for all he was worth.

She could only sit there, watching the swinging rosary with an expression of absolute confusion on her face. "I … I don't understand," she finally stuttered, her voice faint with anxiety. "Wh-where did you find it? I didn't—"

"Don't play stupid!" he yelled, eyes glowing with fury. "Don't lie to me! I dug it outta your pack! How _else_ would it have gotten there, huh?"

"I didn't _do_ anything, Inuyasha," Kagome replied, her voice now firm with conviction. "I don't know how it got in my pack, but I didn't _put_ it there. I … I hadn't even considered it! Do you think I'd be that dumb? Why would I risk my entire future just to stick a collar on you? I thought … I thought you _knew_ me better than that." Her voice was rising despite her best efforts to speak rationally. She was hurt, furious that he would believe her capable of such a treacherous act. Didn't he trust her at _all_?

_ Oh, __wait.__ S__tupid __question__ with __an __obvious __answer,_ she thought bitterly, abruptly turning her back as her eyes began to burn again.

Inuyasha glared, so mad he could have spit fire. But her words gave him pause. _I thought you _knew_ me better than that._ His glare softened as uncertainty wormed its way in. It wasn't a lie. He _did_ know her, and he knew she didn't have a treacherous bone in her body. At least … he'd thought so, anyway. But if it was true, then what was he holding in his hand?

Kagome sighed heavily and brought her fingers up to rub her aching head carefully. "I honestly don't know where that thing came from or how it got into my bag," she mumbled, voice choked with the effort to hold back tears. "Maybe Kaede slipped it into my pack, thinking I'd need protection from you." She shot Inuyasha a brief glare when she felt him bristle behind her. "Quite frankly, I'm _not_ inclined to disagree with her at the moment," she snapped.

His ears flattened, looking at her as if she'd just slapped him. Her eyes narrowed, refusing to let him guilt her. "All I know is I'm telling you the truth, just like I've always done, and whether or not you believe me is entirely up to you. I can't make you change your mind _or_ your obviously low opinion of me. And honestly, I don't even care enough to _want_ to anymore." With that, she turned to limp further into the forest, muttering something about needing privacy, and left a shame-faced hanyou to stare after her.

* * *

_What? Never said they were _happier_, did I?_


	7. Hide and Seek

**Chapter Seven **

**Hide and Seek**

Kagome took her time going back to camp. She was lucky enough to stumble upon a small stream of water trickling down between a pile of rocks. It was icy cold, and sufficient for her needs; wetting the handkerchief she always carried in her pocket, she wiped the worst of the caked dirt and blood from her skin. The damage was minimal, thank goodness. A few cuts and bruises, nothing to worry about. Her knee was the worst injury, and she wrapped the cold cloth around it to soothe the ache.

Her temper began to settle, which she wasn't all that happy about since it left her heart wide open for the hurt to creep back in, along with no small amount of confusion. She wanted to be angry with Kaede for putting the rosary in the bag, thereby making an already serious situation even worse, but she knew the old miko had only been trying to help. Besides, she wasn't even sure Kaede was to blame. Shippou could just as easily have slipped it in, but he wasn't to blame, either. He was just a child and didn't know any better. She couldn't even blame Inuyasha for being so furious about the rosary; she _could_, however, blame him for believing she was heartless enough to actually try and _use_ it on him!

Although, she thought uneasily, with the way things were going, it might just come down to that. No matter what, it seemed the two of them weren't able to see eye-to-eye about _anything_ anymore. What if he really tried to destroy the well when they returned to the village? Could she let him do that? How could she stop him from trying, short of shooting him down with one of her arrows? The thought of hurting him like that made her sick to her stomach. Why couldn't he just trust her? Why did he have to always threaten her? She didn't _want_ to fight with him, but he made it so hard _not_ to anymore. Up until now, she'd honestly believed they were friends. The thought that she might have been wrong was just as sickening as the thought that she might be forced to raise a hand against him.

Eventually, she roused herself to return to camp before Inuyasha came looking for her; she didn't have it in her to deal with another yelling match, unless she wanted to give herself a nervous breakdown. She found the hanyou crouched beside the fire, head bent in concentration as he busily mashed plant leaves together between two rocks, forming a thick, rather lumpy poultice. He sniffed it, shook his head with a snort, then picked up another leafy plant that Kagome recognized from her lessons with Kaede as a medicinal herb. He shredded its leaves with his claws, mixing it into the mash and again pounding away.

She watched curiously for awhile before he finally stopped to study the contents, which now had the consistency of thick, pale-green paste. He seemed satisfied with the results, picking up a large, shiny green leaf to carefully scrape the mixture onto it. Kagome's knee throbbed as she lowered herself carefully onto her sleeping bag, trying not to alert him to her presence, even though he'd probably smelled her long already.

Or maybe not. Her nose wrinkled. She could smell that poultice even from this distance. It was probably wreaking havoc with _his_ sensitive nose. What was it for, anyway? He wasn't injured as far as she could tell. Was it … maybe … for _her_? Her expression softened, and she again regretted yelling at him, even if he had deserved every word of it. But she was alone with him and they had a long trip back. With both her bike and her knee out of commission, he'd probably have to carry her the entire way, which probably didn't please him very much.

She sighed softly. One of these days, she was _going_ to learn how to put a reign on her temper. No matter how mad he made her, yelling at him certainly wasn't helping to repair anything. Still, she had pride enough that she wasn't going to go groveling at his feet begging forgiveness, either. It was just as much his fault as hers that they were fighting, if not more so, she thought stubbornly. She wasn't about to apologize for anything she said to him until _he_ apologized for his horrible behavior towards her!

And, considering how bull-headed the hanyou could be, that might not happen for a _very_ long time.

Inuyasha stood and turned, still holding the leaf as he made his way silently over to her. She blinked up at him, tensing, and swallowed nervously when he seated himself cross-legged in front of her, meeting her gaze with a serious, guarded expression. "Lemme see," he commanded quietly. Almost … kindly, she thought. He gestured at her swollen knee.

She blinked again, speechless. First, he was yelling at her and accusing her of being treacherous and a liar and now … and now _this?_ When would she finally understand what went through that mind of his? She slowly straightened her damaged leg and nearly yelped when he caught hold of it—handling it like a piece of fragile china—and draped it across his lap. A blush bloomed across her cheeks as she reached to hastily tug down the skirt that had ridden up her thighs.

Inuyasha didn't appear to notice as he gently probed around her knee, feeling her twitch every time he hit a sore spot. He frowned, his brows furrowing in concentration. "Looks like you pulled some tendons," he stated gruffly. "Don't go walkin' on it or it'll get worse. Guess I'll have to carry you back to the old lady."

She bit her lip. "Um, in case you forgot, there's a shard still missing," she reminded him. "We can't leave until it's found." She hesitated, then drew a deep breath. "Besides," she added, even more hesitantly, "haven't you noticed the viper hasn't vanished?"

"Huh?" He looked at her, startled.

"I mean … I remember that when we removed shards from other youkai, they crumbled into dust. But, there are still pieces of this one around." She carefully gauged his reaction. "I-if there's still a shard embedded in its flesh, won't it eventually pull itself back together? Like that crow did?"

He swore softly. "I didn't think of it," he admitted, picking up the leaf of plant-mash and dipping his fingers into it. "This'll feel a little weird, but it'll ease the swelling," he added, before smearing the concoction onto Kagome's knee. She jumped when the medicine touched her skin; she hadn't expected it to be so cold! Cold enough to burn, in fact, and she winced as her knee began to tingle uncomfortably. It smelled very much like the joint medicine her grandfather used to ease his arthritis when it acted up, and she imagined that it probably worked about the same way, too. But … was her skin supposed to burn like that? She frowned a little as she eyed the concoction suspiciously.

"If it burns, you know it's doin' its job," Inuyasha said gruffly as he continued to gently massage the medicine into her skin, apparently noticing the uncomfortable expression on her face. Kagome looked at him with wonder, and he fought the sudden urge to squirm. "What?" he demanded. "What're you lookin' at?"

She immediately dropped her gaze. "I was—Um, it's just I never realized you knew so much about … this sort of thing," she mumbled, plucking at her skirt with nervous fingers. "I just never took you for a healer type, that's all. Wh-where did you learn how to…?"

He smirked. "Idiot. How often did the old lady show you stuff like this? I can pay attention, too, ya know." He finished his task and sat back, setting the leaf aside and lifting Kagome's leg from his lap carefully. "You got a bandage in that bag of yours? I should wrap your knee so the poultice has better effect and won't rub off."

She handed him the first aid kit. He carefully bound her knee with the ace wrap and secured it with metal tabs. "There. Just take it easy. In a couple of days you'll be good as new." He tossed the kit back into the pack. "Get some sleep now. I'll be wakin' you up nice and early to look for that shard."

"What about the viper?" Kagome asked nervously, eyeing the still-unmoving chunks of flesh that littered the area.

"As big as that thing is and as many pieces as it's in, it'll take awhile to pull itself together," he snorted. "Besides, I'll notice if anything happens long before it does. All we gotta do then is look for the biggest chunk of snake and get the shard from it."

"And any other youkai that might happen to wander by?"

"Keh. I'll take care of 'em. Don't I always?"

"You seem pretty confident," she muttered, unzipping her bag and crawling stiffly into it. Her entire body was screaming for more sleep. Her head felt strangely heavy, and her ears felt like someone had stuffed them full of cotton. No doubt she had one mother of a cold coming on after all this.

"Least one of us is," Inuyasha snorted, turning his back on her to lean comfortably against the felled tree. "Now quit talkin' and sleep."

She obediently pillowed her head on her arms as she allowed her body to relax. Her eyes studied Inuyasha silently. He looked like he was sleeping, sitting with legs and arms crossed and his eyes tightly closed, but she knew better. His twitching ears gave away the fact that he was still alert, if not fully awake. She sighed and smiled wistfully. Her anger and frustration had disappeared, at least for now. How did he always do that to her, acting like such an ass one moment and then turning a one-eighty to completely disarm her and make her forget why she was mad in the first place. He'd never give her a _real_ apology, but she'd come to realize that his actions usually spoke a lot louder than his words, anyway. The fact that he'd taken care of her meant more to her than any apology. Words were only words, but kindness—especially coming from him—was straight from the heart.

It gave her hope that just maybe he didn't hate her so much, after all.

"Inuyasha?" she called softly, and one ear twitched toward her in acknowledgement as he grunted a response. "Thank you," she whispered, watching as his eyes opened and he turned his head to look at her. "For taking care of me," she added with a small, hesitant smile. "I … um … you didn't have to do that for me and I really appreciate it. I-I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"Keh," he muttered, turning away again and shutting his eyes, but not before she saw the slight smile twitch at his lips, allowing a fang to poke through. Her own smile widened, and she felt much more relaxed as she allowed sleep to claim her again.

* * *

As promised, as soon as the sky lightened, Inuyasha was up and searching for the missing shard. Several more snake chunks were missing, a sure sign that the shard was doing its job in helping the youkai repair itself, and the hanyou was becoming a bit worried. It shouldn't have been _this_ hard to find a half-formed youkai, especially one bearing the scent of the jewel, yet it continued to elude him. The only thing he could think of was that the shard had been blown so far outside the immediate area that even his senses couldn't pick it up. He sighed. It looked like he needed Kagome's help, after all.

He turned to the sleeping girl reluctantly, padding silently over to her huddled form in the padded bag and crouching beside her. He really hated to wake her up; she looked horrible, completely exhausted, and he could detect a change in her scent that suggested she had come down with some form of illness. Not that he blamed her; running around in this godforsaken weather wasn't exactly the healthiest thing for a person to do, especially if that person was a weak human like her. He sighed and almost absentmindedly reached out to gently push her bangs away from her overheated forehead. He wrinkled his nose; as pleasant as the girl normally smelled, right now she was in dire need of a bath, smelling of sweat and damp air and sickness. He sighed again. Well, the sooner they found that thrice-damned shard, the sooner he could get her back to the village and let Kaede take care of her. He was no good at things like this, anyway.

"Hey," he said softly, stroking his thumb along the girl's cheek in a surprising display of tenderness. "Kagome, wake up."

She stirred under his touch, her brow furrowing. "In…yasha," she murmured. "D-don't—"

"Don't what?" he asked, blinking down at her in puzzlement.

She tossed a little. "Need t'go … home…" she mumbled, looking distressed. Inuyasha froze, breath catching in his throat. "Grandfather… Where are you, Mama?" She tossed again, her hand flying out to strike Inuyasha lightly in the chest. Then she released a noise that sounded suspiciously like a little sob, and the hanyou's eyes widened in alarm. Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she stared right into his startled face, her expression panicked as she sat up to grip his robes in fisted hands. "Where is it?" she demanded. Tears sparkled on her lashes and illuminated her glazed eyes. "Where is it? I can't … find it … an'more. He hid—In'yasha … hid it fr'me…" Her voice trailed away and she slumped against him, her head falling against his shoulder. She was trembling and he unconsciously wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling over, realizing that she was still asleep, and dreaming.

"What're you dreaming about?" he whispered, trying to ignore the churning in his gut. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent, grimacing at the strangeness of it. "Wake up, Kagome," he commanded, although his voice was too gentle to really be demanding. "You're havin' a nightmare. C'mon, wake up now."

She stirred in his arms as his soft tone slowly coaxed her into consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around, expression dazed. She stiffened when she realized that she was in his arms, her confused gaze flying up to meet his. She realized, to her trepidation, that she had one hand fisted tightly in his clothes, and forced her stiff fingers to release the soft fur. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was so parched she could hardly force words past her throat. "Wh-what's going on?" she finally managed to croak out.

"Do you feel well enough to stand up?" he asked, completely ignoring her question. "We gotta find that shard."

"Oh. Right. The shard," she murmured, allowing him to help her to her feet. She stood swaying for a moment, one hand gripping his arm for support, before she got her bearings enough to stand on her own. Her knee gave a twinge of protest and she winced. Surprisingly, though, it didn't feel half as bad as she thought it should have felt. That poultice sure packed a wallop.

Inuyasha was holding her plastic water bottle to her lips, as though sensing her need for a drink, and she took it and gulped greedily. She would have continued drinking if he hadn't firmly pulled it away and closed it. "You'll get sicker if you drink like that," he told her firmly.

"I'm not a horse. Give it," she protested, but he ignored her in favor of returning the half-empty bottle to her bag.

"I been lookin' for the shard, but I can't catch wind of it anywhere. It's definitely workin' to pull that viper back together, but I can't detect it," he explained calmly.

She sighed in defeat. "Okay, let me try." She closed her eyes and focused her concentration on the shard. It was hard to focus; her head was muzzy and her senses irritatingly dull, but after a long while she felt the faint tingle of magic touch her from the left, as though from a great distance. "Go in that direction," she murmured, pointing into the forest. "Should be out there somewhere … a mile, maybe? I can't tell."

"Good enough for me," Inuyasha muttered as he began scattering the remains of the fire and tossing stuff into Kagome's large pack.

"Might as well leave the bike. It's no good anymore," Kagome said, looking at the ruined contraption sadly.

"It could be fixed," Inuyasha replied.

"Nobody in this time would know how to properly fix a bike, and as you don't seem inclined to ever let me go home again, there's no point in keeping a useless thing like that around." Her words came out a bit more snappish than she'd intended, but to her surprise, he didn't yell back. He merely grunted and hauled her pack over his shoulder before crouching, an indication that he wanted her to climb onto his back. She hesitated. "I … I don't know if I can hang on. I don't feel well and I might get dizzy and fall off," she muttered sulkily, hating to admit her weakness. She wasn't dumb enough to risk her life over her pride, though.

He sighed. "I won't let you fall off. I don't want you walkin' on that leg any more than you have to. It might feel better but it ain't healed yet, and you'll just make it worse in the end. Besides, it would take too long to walk, anyway. There ain't much time left before that youkai pulls itself back together and then we'll have another fight on our hands. You're out of arrows, and Tetsusaiga didn't even make a dent against those scales."

"Yeah, but there are two less shards in it this time, so it shouldn't be quite that strong, right?"

"I ain't about to risk either of our lives to find that out, idiot!" Inuyasha barked, losing patience entirely. "Now climb on unless you want me to just sling you over my shoulder or somethin'! Either way, I'm carryin' you. End of discussion!"

She blinked at him, then dropped her head and meekly climbed onto his back. He hooked his arms under her knees to pull her more securely against him, then froze when she gave a yelp of protest. "Watch the knee, idiot!" she snapped, cuffing him lightly on the head as punishment. She was clearly in no mood to be polite, and he bit his tongue against the urge to yell back. Instead, he muttered a short "sorry" (which stunned her speechless) and eased his hold on her left leg. He gave the knee an apologetic caress that nearly made her fall off his back from shock, before tensing to leap into the trees.

Kagome did her best to hang on to Inuyasha's neck, pressed against his strong back and burying her face in soft hair to ease the nausea she felt. She could tell he was taking it easy for her sake, and was secretly grateful for that much consideration. She only hoped she could pay him back by _not_ being sick all over his hair before they reached their target. "Do you sense anything?" he asked after a short while, alighting atop a high tree branch. She groggily lifted her head and peered down at the forest. The tingle of magic touched her in a strong pulse, and she pointed to the right.

"I can see the shard's light. It should be right down there," she mumbled. He nodded and leaped to the forest floor, easing her off his back and settling her against a tree.

"Stay here," he commanded. "This shouldn't take long." He unsheathed Tetsusaiga, which immediately transformed.

"W-wait!" she protested weakly, struggling to her feet again. "I'm coming, too. Who knows how strong that youkai's gotten again. You might need—"

"You ain't in no condition to fight a battle. Even if you had any arrows left, you're probably too dizzy to aim straight. You'll just get in the way." There was no maliciousness in his words, just honest truth, and her shoulders slumped.

"Fine," she muttered, sinking back to the ground. He may have been right, but she didn't have to like it. "I'll wait here. Just as useless as ever." She added the last bit under her breath, knowing he would hear her anyway. And instead of disagreeing as she'd hoped he would, he merely grunted and turned to crash into the underbrush in search of the youkai. She sighed heavily and sat back to wait.

As promised, it didn't take long. In a few minutes she heard a loud, screeching hiss, followed by Inuyasha's furious battle cry. Then came the sounds of two enraged youkai engaged in deadly combat, causing the trees, the ground, the very air to shiver with the violence of the fight. After several long, tense moments, there was a final loud screech, the resounding crack of a tree splitting in half, and then … deafening silence.

Kagome held her breath, staring wide-eyed into the shadowed forest around her, waiting for Inuyasha to come bursting through with his usual smirk and the shard in hand. She waited … and waited, and when he still didn't come, she began to panic, rising shakily to her feet. "I-Inuyasha?" she called, fearing the worst. Had they miscalculated? What if the youkai had managed to grow stronger faster than they'd expected? With as much trouble as they'd had killing it the _first_ time … what if, even with two less shards to empower it, it had still proven too powerful for the hanyou? What if he was…?

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, clenching her fists as her heart clenched painfully in her chest.

"What're you yellin' for, idiot? I'm right here!" came the disgruntled response, making her shriek in surprise and stumble back, losing her balance and landing painfully on her tailbone. She glared at the hanyou, who was blinking innocently down at her from the branch just over her head.

"What're you trying to do, give me a stroke?" she yelled. "I thought you were dead!"

"Keh. You're such an idiot," he snorted, hopping nimbly from his perch to land beside her. "Nothin' to it." He held up a large chunk of the jewel between two claws. "Here, put this away."

She snatched it from his hand angrily, and it immediately brightened as her powers purified the taint out of existence. "Well, what was all that screeching about?" she demanded, her voice filled with accusation. "It sure sounded like a life-and-death battle to me! And then you didn't come back right away and everything was so quiet and … and…" She broke off with a pitiful sniffle, horrified to find that her eyes were now burning with unshed tears, and quickly turned away. In doing so, she missed the softening of his expression as he realized how scared for him she'd been.

"I had to get the jewel, but it'd migrated from its eye so it took awhile to find it," he explained.

"You could've come and gotten me. I'd have found it easily," she sulked.

He smiled a little at her expression. "We got what we came for. Let's get back to the village. Come on, climb up." He picked up her pack and knelt, patiently helping her to adjust herself when she slowly climbed onto his back and slumped forward. He could feel her trembling slightly, hiding a wince of concern when he realized how warm she was. Hopefully she wouldn't become seriously ill from this trip; he wouldn't be able to handle the guilt of having made her sick on top of the guilt he already felt for making her so miserable the past few days. He sighed and stood, gripping her arms tightly around his neck to keep her from sliding off; he doubted she had enough strength left to hang onto him by herself.

"Let's go home," he said quietly, hearing her murmur in response as he started off at a careful pace back to the village.


	8. Locked Out

_Thank you for the lovely reviews and faves. They are all appreciated. :)_

_Disclaimer: Aw, y'all know the drill by now. Don't own it. I'd be a lot richer than this if I did._

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**Locked Out**

A full day later, Inuyasha finally made it back to the village. He'd gone a lot slower coming than going, since Kagome seemed to be getting worse as time passed and he didn't want to risk hurting her more. He'd given up trying to carry her on his back, instead pulling the rucksack over both shoulders and cradling her securely in his arms. She lay in them like a limp doll, barely conscious, and no amount of jostling on his part would rouse her.

"You big jerk! What'd you do to Kagome?" Shippou howled as soon as Inuyasha set foot inside the hut. He didn't bother answering; his warning growl was enough to make the agitated little fox freeze in his tracks before he could start chewing on the hanyou's ears or something.

"Old lady, get up and help Kagome," he barked, carefully laying the half-conscious girl on her futon.

Kaede eyed him sharply before stiffly rising to comply with his demands, muttering to herself about being bossed around in her own home. "Shippou, heat some water in the kettle and bring it to me," she ordered. "Inuyasha, seat thyself over there and tell me what has happened."

Inuyasha sat cross-legged on the floor, as close to Kagome as he could get without being in the way, and explained in short, clipped tones everything that had happened up to that point.

"It's all your fault, making her go out and fight when the weather's so awful!" Shippou accused. "And she was already all upset 'cause you're being such a big jerk, too! No wonder she got sick!"

"Shippou, that's enough." This weak protest came from Kagome, who'd finally roused herself enough to witness the argument. Shippou squeaked and hurled himself into her arms; she hugged him weakly and stroked his hair. "Inuyasha was very helpful to me," she said quietly. "He made a poultice for my leg, and he was kind enough to carry me all the way back to the village. Don't be so angry, okay?"

"But—"

She cut his protests with a hand over his mouth. "No arguing, all right? Remember what I told you?"

He sighed and hung his head, curling up on her stomach with his tail around his body, resting his ear over her heart. "I'm glad you're okay, Kagome. I was scared something bad might happen. You know … besides what _did_ happen." He shot another accusing glare at Inuyasha, who merely bared his teeth in response.

"Both of you wait outside until we have finished here," Kaede commanded. Thus having dismissed the two males, she turned to her patient. Inuyasha hovered for a minute or two, clearly not willing to leave, but a stern glance from the elderly miko finally sent him skulking outside.

* * *

Kagome's illness wouldn't leave.

Days passed, and still it clung stubbornly to her weak body, settling itself firmly into a fluctuating fever, a hacking cough, and rasping breath with occasional bouts of nausea and vomiting to top it all off. Needless to say, she was miserable. None of Kaede's herbs seemed to work, and Kagome, when she was coherent enough to think, realized that her head cold had most likely developed into a case of bronchitis or possibly even the beginning stages of pneumonia or influenza, diseases for which she highly doubted there was any cure in that era. It was the curse of being stuck in such an uncivilized time; she desperately needed a real doctor and real antibiotics from her own time, but she couldn't gather the courage to ask Inuyasha to let her go home. They'd been on fairly good terms lately—although that was probably due more to him disappearing for hours or even days at a time—and she was horribly afraid of doing or saying something to set him off again.

It hurt, though, to think that while she was suffering so terribly, Inuyasha could hardly bother to keep her company. Had his former kindness just been a fluke, and now that the responsibility of caring for her was out of his hands, he no longer wanted to bother with her? She tried to tell herself that it was a good thing he stayed away; she didn't want to risk making him sick, after all, and that was probably why he was hardly around. But he was a hanyou. She doubted any human illness would make _him_ sick, no matter how serious it might be to anyone else.

She tried desperately to get Kaede to leave her be, though. It was doubtful the elderly woman was immune to whatever she had, and she was probably highly contagious, to boot. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for starting a plague that could wipe out the entire village! She said as much to Kaede, who merely replied that she was taking every precaution, and to stop fretting over everyone else and focus her energy on getting well. Kagome had no choice but to give up after that. Kaede was nearly as stubborn as Inuyasha when she set her mind to it.

In the meantime, Inuyasha spent his days taking out his overwhelming frustration on the hapless plant life in the forest, not to mention any stray youkai unfortunate enough to cross his path. Luckily, there seemed to be an increasing number of them, drawn by the scent of the gathered shards. He tore into the intruders as if possessed, finishing them off with a brutal fury that would have frightened anyone who witnessed the slaughter. The village had probably never been safer in those days, but he really didn't give a rat's ass about _that_.

He was well aware that something was terribly wrong with Kagome, and the best way to fix her was to take her down the well and to her own time. He'd even determined several times to march into that hut and drag her out of it whether the old lady and the fox liked it or not!

But then the memory of that night—of Kagome's despairing words to Kaede about never coming back again—would worm its way into his head, and his resolve would waver under the force of his doubt. What if she'd really meant it? If he sent her back, even to save her life, what if she never returned? Even if it would save her life … he just couldn't take the chance. She would get better with the herbs Kaede provided. She _had_ to.

Still, when he snuck into the hut to watch her tossing fitfully in her sleep, he couldn't help but feel like all sorts of a selfish bastard. She was plagued by nightmares, most of them involving _him_ in some way, and it was all he could do not to curl up somewhere and whimper in shame. Instead, he would creep close and gently run his hand through her sweat-dampened hair, quietly pleading with her to calm down, to rest, to get _better_. To his surprise, she seemed soothed by his touch and his voice, would calm slowly until she relaxed into a deeper sleep. It appeased the ache in his heart to know that he had such an influence on her, that maybe she wasn't as terrified of him as she seemed in her nightmares.

* * *

A week passed, and then another, and still she didn't improve.

Inuyasha was beyond frustrated. All Kaede seemed able to do, whether through charms or herbs, was keep Kagome's illness from growing any worse, and even that seemed to be failing now. He had to do _something_, before it was too late and she couldn't be cured at all.

There was only one reasonable solution he could come up with, however. It would probably mean a bit of groveling, but he finally swallowed his indomitable pride and, under the cover of night, snuck to the well with the full intention of going to Kagome's mother himself and begging for medicine. He winced; definite groveling would be involved. After all, it had been weeks since Kagome had last gone home. Her mom was probably frantic with worry by that point. But there was no need for her to find out it was _his_ fault she'd been gone so long, right?

Inuyasha took a deep breath and peered into the well's dark mouth. He was more nervous than he'd ever admit to anyone, especially himself. He'd never gone to Kagome's time without her before, and he wondered how he ought to face her mother and explain exactly why he was alone. "Easy," he muttered, straightening his back proudly. "I'll just say she's too sick to be moved so I came to get medicine from her time to help her get better! Her mom'll understand that."

Nodding resolutely, he leapt nimbly into the shadowed depths, fully expecting to be engulfed with the magical light that would carry him to the other end of time.

He was _not_ expecting to hit the bottom of the well and still be on _his_ side of it.

The sudden, hard impact jarred him, making him stumble to his knees. He knelt there, stunned, for a full minute, trying to understand what had just happened. He peered up and sure enough, rather than the musty roof of the well house, the star-dotted sky and overhanging branches met his eyes. He leapt out of the well and gazed in utter confusion into it, wondering if it was just a fluke. Shrugging, he tried again, waiting for the familiar tingle of magic.

Again, he hit the bottom and still he was on the wrong side.

Now he was beginning to panic. Muttering a string of curses, he hopped out of the well and once more leapt, only to be met with the exact same results. Over and over he tried this, his heart racing faster and faster with each failed attempt, until at last he fell to his knees on the cracked dirt and stared at the sky despairingly as he reached one, inevitable conclusion.

The well had, for some inexplicable reason, locked him out.

* * *

_Dun dun duuunnnn!_

_Right. So, who didn't see that one coming?_

_Okay, if you read the story before, the answer doesn't count. Hush, you._

_Yes, you._


	9. Turnaround

_Sorry for the delay, folks. Wasn't quite happy with the chapter so did some extra editing on it. Much better now, methinks._

* * *

**Chapter ****Nine**

**Turnaround**

It was a very subdued hanyou that returned to the village, entering Kaede's hut without a word and stalking past the current residents with barely a glance in their direction. He made his way to Kagome's bedside, where he then sat cross-legged beside her and proceeded to watch her sleep. He could hear her breath rasping in her throat; his ears instinctively flattened to his skull as if to block out the disturbing sound, and his brow furrowed as his mind once again played over these most recent turn of events.

The well was closed to him. He could not return to the other world to ask Kagome's mother for help, and now he had one more reason not to allow Kagome herself to return. If she went, what was to keep her from never coming back again? She'd even admitted that she wasn't sure she'd want to, and he admitted (to himself) that he wasn't sure he'd blame her. That didn't mean he was going to let her go, of course! He'd always considered himself to be strong, but Kagome, he was fast realizing, was the only weak point he had in his entire life. If he lost her _now_…

But … if he didn't let her go back he could lose her anyway, in a way even more permanent than a sealed well. At least with the well, there was always a _chance_ he'd see her again. As slim as it seemed at the moment…

He growled softly to himself and hunched further down, golden eyes fixing on her pale, lax face as she mumbled a little in her sleep and shifted. She'd at some point kicked the covers away; when he moved to gently pull them over her again, he could feel the heat rising from her body, and the smell of prolonged sickness. It was enough to nearly make him gag. Not for the first time, he wondered how Kaede, with as much time as she spent tending the girl, hadn't managed to catch the illness herself. The old hag was much more resilient than she seemed. Kagome, in her few moments of lucidity, always seemed to be muttering about how her sickness wasn't something that anyone in the village had probably had before, and how she'd end up spreading a plague around if she wasn't moved someplace safer. Yet another worry she insisted on shouldering, on top of everything else, no matter how much Kaede tried to reassure her.

It was all his fault, just like Shippou said. If he hadn't let his pride get the better of him and acted like such an ass, she never would have fallen ill like this. Sitting there in the quiet, listening to her struggle to live, he realized that if he could go back in time and do everything differently, he would have. It was so easy to see his mistakes, now that the one person he'd actually grown to care about more than life was nearly on the verge of losing hers. The moment the rosary had snapped, the moment the subduing spell had broken, instead of trying to terrify her and bully her right into abandoning the trust she'd gained in him, he should have been trying to show her just how deserving of that trust he was. Instead of making her afraid of him, he should have tried to make her realize she didn't have a _reason_ to be.

Had being sat countless times really been that horrible? Sure, it was annoying as hell, and there were times when he knew he didn't deserve it—And, okay, times when he probably (definitely)had—but was her losing that ability to control him worth the cost of her friendship?

Three weeks ago, he would have insisted that getting rid of that spell was worth everything to him. Now he was having second thoughts.

Kagome shifted in her sleep again and then began to thrash; her voice rose into a low wail as she gave articulation to nameless terrors haunting her sleep. It was disturbing how often his name came up in these moments; he knew it wasn't _for_ him that she cried out, but _because_ of him. All he could do was reach out to touch her softly. He could feel eyes on him, but swallowed his pride and ignored the kitsune and miko in favor of trying to soothe her fears. "Hush, Kagome," he murmured, stroking her hot cheek carefully with a clawed thumb, as he had done so many times already. "You're safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you. Just relax, okay?"

She slowly grew still again—the kind of deathly stillness that always made Inuyasha's heart stop beating until she took her next breath of air—and she turned her head to press her cheek into the warmth of his palm. Inuyasha couldn't keep a small smile from touching his lips at this action; it gave him hope that his friendship with Kagome wasn't in such dire straights after all, even though she clearly didn't realize what she was doing.

Then her eyes fluttered open, staring blindly at the ceiling for a moment. She blinked slowly and looked around until her gaze landed on Inuyasha, who was watching her hopefully. It was the first time she'd awoken for nearly two days now. As the confusion slowly cleared from fever-glazed eyes, her already-pale face blanched to a sickly gray, her eyes widened in what could only be described as abject terror, and she screamed shrilly at the top of her lungs, scrambling out of her bedroll and frantically pulling herself away from him as quickly as possible, half-sobbing in her fright.

Inuyasha sat there, frozen in shock, and gawped at the terrified girl. He barely had time to gather his wits again to try and calm Kagome before he was suddenly set upon by an extremely furious Shippou. "What'd you do?" the kitsune screamed in his ears. "What'd you do to Kagome, you asshole?" Understandably, he was extremely upset at the sight of his hysterical surrogate mother, who was now being comforted by a rather confused Kaede, but even Inuyasha was shocked at the vile name the little fox spat at him. Kagome would _not_ be pleased, of course; _he_ would be blamed for teaching Shippou that word in the first place.

"I—I—She was having another nightmare. She woke up and … she got scared." Inuyasha could hardly force words from his too-tight throat as he stared at Kagome's shivering form, his heart dropping like a boulder into his gut and sending waves of sick nausea up into his throat. He swallowed convulsively, absently batting away Shippou—who'd taken to gnawing on his head in retaliation—and staggered to his feet. "I-I'm sorry." Without another word he turned on his heel and almost bolted from the room.

Kaede sighed and, when Shippou would have started after him, grabbed the kit by the tail and drew him back. "Wet a cloth for Kagome's forehead," she instructed. "Leave the hanyou be."

Shippou grumbled, but did as the miko instructed. Kagome had calmed considerably now, staring at the door with a befuddled expression. Her eyes had gained back a bit of lucidity. "K-Kaede, what's—I—Did I … do something?" she mumbled, attempting to reign in her feverish thoughts.

"Ye were dreaming, child, and when ye awoke, ye mistook Inuyasha as another nightmare, is all," the elderly woman soothed. "Get ye back to bed, now."

"But, what about Inuyasha?" Kagome protested, her brow furrowing. "I didn't hurt him, did I?" Then she shook her head, releasing a little laugh. "What am I talking about? Of course I didn't hurt _him. _I don't think he has any feelings to _be_ hurt. He wouldn't care about anything I said, anyway."

"Be not so hasty to judge him, child," Kaede scolded gently. "And do not worry for him, either. The best way to help him is to get better. He is more worried than ye may believe."

"Why? Because he's afraid of losing his precious shard detector?" Kagome couldn't keep the bitterness from her tone as she curled up on her futon again.

"No. Because he fears to lose his most precious friend."

Kagome's expression softened a bit. "Could—If you see Inuyasha, could you tell him that … I'm sorry for hurting his feelings? I didn't mean to."

Kaede smiled at her patient, her single eye shining with faint relief. "Ye may tell him so yourself when ye see him next," she replied. "It will mean much more to him coming from the one that matters to him most. Now sleep."

* * *

Another week passed, and finally, _finally_, the persistent fever broke.

The recovery was difficult. The prolonged illness had definitely taken its toll on both her mental and physical well-being, but with patience and care (and many get-well gifts of healing herbs and good luck talismans from the villagers) Kagome's health began to improve.

She was amazed to still be alive. She couldn't remember much, but the new lines on Kaede's aged face spoke volumes of the seriousness of her illness. Nobody would tell her anything but she wondered just how close she'd come to actually dying. Would her family have ever known what'd happened to her? Would Inuyasha have been kind enough to go back and tell them, or would they have been forever left to wonder and mourn her loss?

Speaking of Inuyasha, _he_ had taken to avoiding her again. She had no doubt it was because of what had happened a week ago. She'd caught him, once or twice, sneaking into the hut when he thought she was sleeping, bringing her cups of fresh water or tea. He was unusually skittish, and as soon as she tried speaking to him, he'd jump like a startled rabbit and scurry away. The behavior was most un-Inuyasha-like, and she wondered sadly if he'd ever sit still long enough to give her the chance to apologize.

But at the moment, Kagome wasn't worried about Inuyasha. At the moment she was waiting impatiently for Kaede to finish examining her throat and tell her whether or not she was well enough to go outside. The weather had warmed considerably and it had been weeks since she'd been out of the hut. She missed the sun. She missed fresh air. She missed _bathing_! "So, what's the verdict, Doc?" she finally asked. "Am I allowed to get up or are you still going to keep me chained to my bed?"

"Ye seem to be in very good health now, Kagome," Kaede replied. "Ye may go out for short amounts of time, but do not overtax thyself. If the fever comes back…" There was no need to finish the sentence. They all knew what would most likely happen. Miracles didn't occur twice, after all.

"I understand," Kagome replied softly. She reached for Kaede's hand. "Thank you _so much_ for all your trouble. I'm sorry I was such a burden. You saved my life! I'll never be able to make it up to you, but I'll certainly try."

"Bah." Kaede gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "There is no such debt. I did merely what ye would have done in my place. No thanks are needed. Now, best be getting along before the sun sets. The nights are still chilly, after all."

* * *

"Hey! You're not supposed to be up yet!" Shippou protested when he saw Kagome slipping on her shoes and a blue sweater. She looked awfully shaky and pale, and positively skeletal due to the amount of weight she had lost. But she also looked determined, and Shippou knew there was no arguing with her when she had _that_ look on her face.

"Kaede said I could get up, just not to overtax myself," she said firmly. "I'm just going to sit outside and get some fresh air. I'm tired of being stuck in this room. I almost forget what sunlight looks like these days!"

"The sun is barely even up anymore!" Shippou tried with all his might to push her back to her bed, shoving his tiny form against her legs. The really sad part was that he was _almost_ succeeding, and that just made Kagome all the more determined not to budge.

"Well, then, I'll watch the sunset." She glanced down at him with a smile. "Shippou, I'm not as strong yet as I used to be. If you keep pushing on me like that, you're going to topple me over," she warned. The little kit immediately stopped and looked up mournfully. She gave his head a reassuring pat and stepped to the door, only to be halted by a very determined-looking Inuyasha.

She sighed. _Nobody_ could out-stubborn the hanyou, not even her; she wouldn't be getting past him if he didn't want her to. "I'm just going to sit outside for a bit and watch the sun set. It's not like I'm about to go gallivanting across the country," she said in exasperation.

He frowned, but reluctantly moved aside so she could squeeze past him. Before she got more than two steps, however, his hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. Startled, she glanced back to find him staring at the ground, a pensive expression on his face. "I'm glad you're feelin' better," he muttered awkwardly, still not looking at her.

Her heart melted, just a bit, and she smiled shyly. "So am I," she agreed. Then, hesitantly, "Inuyasha?"

He met her gaze, golden eyes serious, and waited for her to continue.

"Thank you. For taking care of me," she murmured. "And also, about the other night, I—"

"Keh. Forget it," he muttered, his hand dropping from her shoulder like a stone.

"No, wait." She gripped his haori. "Please let me apologize, okay? I've been trying all week but you haven't given me much of a chance." She pouted a bit. "Don't hold it against me, okay? I wasn't in my right mind. It was the fever that made me dream like that and … and I didn't know you."

"You don't gotta say nothin'." He was beginning to look uncomfortable, as he always did whenever she tried to talk about _emotions_. "The fever didn't have nothin' to do with it. Ain't the first time I heard you mutterin' in your sleep. Ain't the first time I seen that look on your face, either."

She frowned. "I can't help what I dream, Inuyasha," she replied quietly. "It isn't like I can control my subconscious or anything."

"Nope. Your subconscious is what lets loose all the emotions you try an' keep bottled inside," he growled back. "All it does is let go of how you _really_ feel."

She shook her head a little, brow furrowing. "Do you think it's my fault I feel this way? Why are you mad at me for something you brought on all by yourself?" she demanded, her voice rising slightly as anger began to take hold. She stopped and took a deep, unsteady breath, and Inuyasha winced when he heard the faint, lingering rattle in her lungs.

"Keh," he muttered, ears flattening as he turned away. He would have stalked off then and there, but her grip on his haori, as weak as it was, stilled him. He wanted to yell back, to argue like he normally would, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The simple matter was, she was right. He _had_ brought it all on himself, and he didn't have any right to be mad at her for being afraid of him. If anything, he was furious at himself. So, with a soft sigh, he very gently pried Kagome's fisted hand from his clothes. "S'okay," he mumbled, stroking his thumb over her palm. "Just forget about it, okay?" He carefully set her hand by her side and walked away without another word, leaving a very confused Kagome to stare after him.


	10. Confession

_Disclaimers: Didn't own it last time, don't own it now._

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

**Confession**

"I'm going for a walk," Kagome announced as she helped Kaede finish the remainder of the morning chores. "I know what you're going to say," she hastily added, seeing the expression on the miko's face, "but you don't need to worry. I'll be careful. I won't go far and as soon as I start to feel tired, I'll come right back and rest, okay? I just want to walk around for a bit; I've been bedridden for weeks!"

Kaede reluctantly conceded, and Kagome eagerly made her escape. She doubted she'd feel tired anytime soon. The spring air was fresh and fragrant with green, growing things, and a warm breeze tugged at her hair and clothes playfully. She loved this time of year, especially with such nice weather that urged her to skip and turn cartwheels and frolic in fields of daisies and other such nonsense.

Shippou was asleep inside the hut, which baffled her—How a child as energetic as that kit could _sleep_ on such a glorious morning would forever remain a mystery—and Inuyasha was … well … Who _knew_ where Inuyasha was? Probably off chasing the squirrels or something, she thought with a little smirk. For the first time in a very long while, Kagome found herself completely alone, and she intended to relish it. As much as she loved to be around people, sometimes absolute solitude was good company in and of itself. So, clearing her mind of everything but enjoying every moment of the bright day, she continued her leisurely stroll and simply allowed her feet to take her wherever they would, unknowingly leading her in one certain direction, into the forest.

* * *

She was in _so_ much trouble.

If she got caught, that is.

Kagome stared in horror at the scene before her; the all-too-familiar clearing with the all-too-familiar well situated right in the center of it. She mentally kicked herself; that was the last time she let her _feet_ do the walking instead of her head! She had better get the hell out of there before Inuyasha showed up. He always seemed to have the nasty habit of being _exactly_ where she didn't want him to be, and it would be a disaster if he ended up being _there_. As long as the well remained intact, there was always the slim possibility that he'd change his mind and let her go home. But if he actually carried out his threat and destroyed it, she could consider herself to be pretty much screwed for life.

On the other hand…

She stilled as another thought hit her. The possibility of _not_ running away, of instead running _toward_ the well and throwing herself into it. She was there. She was _alone_. Nobody was there to stop her, and she … she could finally go _home._ She could finally be with her family again, and she could reassure everyone that she was fine and dandy and go back to school and see her friends and … and…

And it would never work.

Her shoulders slumped as hope packed its bags and fled as quickly as it had come. Chance or not, there was no _point_ because as soon as Inuyasha figured out where she'd gone, he'd just go in after her, drag her back by her hair, and _then_ destroy the well for good. She was far from being a trained miko; she had no idea how to go about sealing the well once she got to the other side of it. Her grandfather, well, he had about as much spiritual power as your average doorknob, so he'd be no help either. Besides, she didn't want to return for good. Well, she _did_, but her conscience would never let her live it down. She had shattered the jewel; like it or not, it was on her shoulders to clean up her mess. Who knew what sort of havoc it might cause in her future to just let things as they were? And she'd miss everyone. Kaede and Shippou … and even Inuyasha. Could she really just leave them without even saying goodbye?

Muttering under her breath, Kagome whirled to leave the clearing, to _run_ the entire way back to the village, if she had to … and abruptly froze in her tracks.

It _really_ shouldn't have surprised her to see him standing there. It really shouldn't have. This was exactly like some scene out of a novel, after all. Of _course_ the antagonist has to be where the heroine is, she thought bleakly. What kind of a story would it be, otherwise? All she knew was that whoever was up there writing _this_ particular story, they were one hell of a sadist.

Inuyasha seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. His golden eyes kept darting from her to the well and back again, widening a little before narrowing, a strange look beginning to cross his features as he apparently jumped to the most obvious conclusion.

And Kagome panicked.

"Inu-Inuyasha, _wait!_" she cried, throwing herself at him and latching her arms tight around his waist, hard enough to make him grunt from the impact. "Wait, please! I-it isn't what it looks like! I wasn't going to—I was just _walking_ and I didn't pay attention to where I was going and … and I just ended up here but I _swear_ I wasn't going to go through! _Please_ don't destroy the well!" she pleaded desperately, gripping his haori with both fists and raising frightened, tearful eyes to meet his startled gaze. "I-I'll never go near it again, I swear, but don't destroy it! If you do that then I've got nothing left to hope for!"

Inuyasha said nothing, merely stared down at the girl struggling fiercely to back him away from the well; wasted effort as he didn't move an inch. He could feel her fists shaking where they pressed against his chest; her entire _body_ was shaking, and he felt a jolt of alarm. If she kept this up, she was going to get sick again. "Kagome, calm down," he commanded sternly. "You're actin' hysterical."

She didn't seem to hear him, still babbling at him not to destroy the well. He swallowed, hard. _Is this what I've done to her? _he thought. She'd tossed away all of her pride, begging him like a condemned prisoner begging for her life. But instead of the satisfaction of finally having her prostrate herself at his feet after all the humiliation she'd repeatedly dished out to him, he felt only shame. This wasn't what he wanted at all. It wasn't _right_. It just wasn't like her. Where had the laughing, cheerful, confidant girl he'd come to know gone? Had he really broken her so completely?

He couldn't take it anymore. Without warning, his arms swept around her and pulled her tight against him, effectively cutting her words on a startled squeak at the unexpected action. He dropped his head to bury his face against her hair as he sought to gain control over his emotions. "Stop," he whispered hoarsely. "Just stop."

Kagome blinked, mouth slightly agape as she struggled to understand just what was going on. Her eyes were level with his throat, nose almost pressed into his sternum; she could see his Adams apple flex as he repeatedly swallowed. His arms were tight around her, encompassing her in a dizzying array of warmth and scent. He smelled like the trees, like the wind and sunshine and everything nature. Long moments passed, and he didn't seem inclined to release her anytime soon, so she slowly relaxed against his arms. In response, he held her even tighter.

This embrace was as disturbing as it was pleasant, she decided uneasily. Inuyasha wasn't being himself at all, or maybe he'd just been desperate to calm her down a little. He'd never been good at handling her tears, and she _had_ been a bit hysterical, she supposed. "U-um, I'm okay now," she mumbled, blushing. "Y-you can let go of me." He didn't reply. _Or_ comply. "Um, I-Inuyas—"

"I'm sorry."

The words startled her into silence. She drew back as far as she could to give the hanyou an astonished look. His expression was serious and pensive, intense eyes staring into hers, locking her in a deep, golden gaze that she was helpless to withdraw from. He seemed to be trying to communicate something through them, but she was hopelessly confused and couldn't begin to fathom the emotions she saw churning in the brilliant depths. She opened her mouth to speak, but a clawed finger pressing to her lips—as soft as a kiss—again silenced her, and set her stomach to fluttering like a flock of rampaging butterflies.

When he finally released her and stepped away, she almost wanted to cry. Even more, she wanted to throw herself back into his arms and hold on tight. It was only through the greatest force of will that she stayed where she was, watching as he reached into his haori and searched around. When he extracted his hand again, she gaped with open bewilderment.

A rosary dangled from his clawed fingers.

When he reached out to take her hand and press the beads firmly into her palm, before closing her fingers over it, she thought she might actually faint from the shock.

"Put it on me," he commanded her, as serenely as if he'd just commented on the weather, or demanded a second helping at dinnertime.

If her jaw dropped any further, her chin would be in the dirt. "_Wh_-_what?_" She was certain she'd heard wrong. She _must_ have.

He sighed heavily, head lowering until silky bangs shadowed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly. "For everything that happened … since that day … I'm sorry. Because of me, horrible things happened to you. You got hurt. You got sick. And I … I didn't do anything but hurt you even more. So I'm sorry."

"Inuyasha," she breathed, her wide eyes trained on him intently. "You—I—"

"Let me finish," he interrupted, somewhat impatiently. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and glanced at the blue beads fisted in her hand. "I destroyed your trust in me, your friendship." For a moment, his stoic expression crumbled in an expression of intense pain. "I made you miserable. I … I made you _fear_ me." His fist clenched at his side, claws breaking skin to draw blood. He didn't notice. "I dunno how to get it back again. I dunno how to make you trust me again, except for this. So go ahead, put the rosary on me. It's already spelled so all you gotta do is say the word. When you got me collared again, you won't have to be scared of anything I do, Kagome. You won't have to be scared of me destroyin' the well anymore."

"But … you _hate_ the spell. Why would … you do that?"

His reply, when it came, was so soft she barely heard it. "Because compared to losin' you, the spell don't mean anything to me."

Kagome stared at him, at his downcast eyes, and felt her own eyes burn as tears rose to their surface. She clutched the rosary in her hand, feeling a tooth dig into her palm, before abruptly hauling back and flinging it away from her with all her might. It landed with a faint rustle of leaves and twigs somewhere in the trees, and she turned back to witness Inuyasha's astounded expression. He blinked several times, jaw hanging open as his eyes fixed on the area where the rosary had landed, before snapping his gaze back to the girl. "What'd you go an' do that for?" he barked, but beneath the harsh words, Kagome could hear the worry.

"It doesn't really prove anything, you know," she replied, ducking her head shyly beneath his cautious gaze. "Collaring you again won't prove I can trust you," she elaborated. "It doesn't really mean much, knowing that I could stop you with a word whenever I wanted to. It'd mean a lot more to me if I knew I could trust you _without_ the help of some stupid spell. Besides, how else can I tell that your friendship is _real_, and you're not just pretending to be my friend to avoid being sat? I-I'd rather _you_ give your trust to _me_ freely, instead of me having to force it out of you."

Inuyasha was silent in the face of this admittance. He had that odd look on his face again, as though he was pondering something very important. After a long moment, he nodded slowly. "Okay, then," he said, his voice laced with conviction. "If that's what you want, I'll show you on my own you've got every reason to trust me, and I'll prove how much I trust you."

With a sudden move, he swept Kagome into his arms, ignoring her startled squeak as he strode gracefully toward the well. "I'm sendin' you home," he said simply, in response to her protests, which abruptly died. He paused just beside the well, but rather than put her down, as she'd expected, he merely held her closer and met her gaze with serious eyes. She was dismayed to see an odd trace of sadness in their depths.

"I gotta tell you something," he said softly. "When you were sick, I tried to go to your family an' ask for help, but the well wouldn't let me through." Her eyes widened at the admission, but he hurried on to silence her questions. "I dunno what happened or why I was blocked. I guess it might be 'cause the rosary got broken, but I'm not sure." His expression was guarded. "If I send you back now, I don't got any way to retrieve you again," he admitted quietly, wanting to make sure she understood. "If you chose to never come back again … there ain't anything I can do about it. But I'm gonna send you home, 'cause it's where you belong. And … I'll trust that you'll come back again."

"But what about the jewel? You don't—"

"Never mind about the jewel," he growled with a shake of his silvery mane. "It ain't important." He blushed a little under her disbelieving stare, but he was determined not to falter in this. "In case I never see you again," he added firmly, "this is … goodbye." He shifted a little, and looked decidedly uncomfortable. "And … know that—" The blush in his cheeks grew more pronounced as he struggled against his very nature to speak his deepest feelings. "Just know that you're … in my heart."

And before his pride could once again get the better of him, he held her tight, ducked his head, and pressed his lips to hers in a soft, caressing kiss.

When he withdrew a long, heady moment later, her breath was unsteady and her eyes glazed with tears. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, and he smiled sadly at her. "Goodbye, Kagome," he whispered, nuzzling softly at her ear.

Then he leaned over the well and released her, allowing her to drop silently into its depths, her wide-eyed gaze still locked on his until the blue light flared to engulf her form. When it faded again, she was gone, and the strength bled from Inuyasha's legs as he slumped against the side, staring in despair into the empty shadows and wondering if he just made the biggest mistake of his life.

_The End_

* * *

_Kidding! I'm _kidding_, people! Don't hurt me! *ducks and covers*_


	11. Disappearing Act

**Chapter ****Eleven**

**Disappearing Act**

Kagome found herself practically smothered before she even set foot inside her house. Souta was the first to see her emerging from the well house and his instant reaction was to race away yelling at the top of his lungs. She stared at the trail of dust he left, momentarily offended; what was she, a ghost? Then her mother was out the door in seconds, followed closely by her grandfather—She had never seen either of them run quite that _fast_ before—and as she found herself being swept into their welcoming arms, the only thing she could do was burst into tears of relief. Up until that point, her mind had been whirling with confusion at Inuyasha's startling confession. She'd even been contemplating going back (just for a few moments, mind you) to ask him directly if he'd really meant it, but then Souta had spotted her and, well, all thoughts of leaving again fled her mind when she threw herself into her mother's arms.

She had quite a bit of explaining to do, naturally. She'd been gone for over a month without a single word as to her whereabouts or whether she was okay; her family had been just about ready to give her up as lost. On top of that, she'd returned looking a little worse for wear, what with her still-pasty complexion and the gaunt appearance of someone who had been ill for a very long time. She apologized profusely, and apologized again to Souta for having missed his birthday party after she'd _pinky-sworn_ she wouldn't, and also for not having thought to bring his present with her. She'd left her entire pack behind, in fact, but then again, she hadn't really expected to be going _home_ today.

She explained the best she could about her illness and how everyone thought it was too dangerous to move her the entire way to the well without the risk of her getting worse. This wasn't true, of course. With Inuyasha's speed, he could have bundled her up and dropped her off in a few short minutes, but she didn't want to mention the real reason for her disappearance, at least not in front of her brother and grandfather. Souta had a serious case of hero-worship for the hanyou, and she didn't have the heart to break his adoring faith. As for her grandfather, well, he'd no doubt go off the deep end and try to have the well permanently sealed or something in case that "nasty demon" decided to come snatch her away again. Not that Inuyasha _could_, if what he'd told her about being banned from her time was true. But that wouldn't matter to Grandpa. He may not have had much in the way of real spiritual power, but there were other ways to seal a well. Like destroying it entirely.

When she had finally answered all the questions she could stomach, her always-observant mother shooed her brother and grandfather off so Kagome could have a proper bath and sleep, leading her exhausted daughter to her bedroom. "So, perhaps now you can tell me now the other reason you haven't been back for so long," she urged gently.

Kagome nearly fell over, peeking cautiously through the neckline of the shirt she was in the process of pulling over her head. "Ummm … what makes you think there's another reason?" she asked with her most innocent expression.

Her mother pursed her lips with that too-observant expression. "Dearest, there must be more to the story than what you've told us. Even being so badly sick, couldn't Inuyasha have come back to get proper medicine to help you? Why rely on the medicine of his time when he knows that our medical knowledge is so much more advanced?"

Kagome squirmed. That was the other thing she hadn't mentioned. To do so would have led to explanations she really didn't want to get into. "Well … you know how Inuyasha is," she muttered uneasily. "He's so incredibly stubborn, the dummy…" Her mother did not look convinced. She sighed, deciding it was probably best to just 'fess up. "Well, um, you see, he did try. But … uh … hecouldn'tgetthroughthwell," she mumbled quickly.

"Why is that? Did something happen?"

"Well … kinda…" Her mother was obviously waiting for her to elaborate. Kagome sighed. "There was a bit of a scuffle and the rosary sort of snapped and broke the spell I had on Inuyasha. I guess maybe that was what had linked us so he could follow me through the well, but with it broken…" She shrugged.

"Oh, dear. I do see how that could present a problem," the older woman murmured, one hand coming up to rest against her cheek. Her brow furrowed with increasing concern. "Kagome, please answer me truthfully. When the spell broke, did anything else … happen?" Seeing her daughter's confused expression, she elaborated carefully, "Did Inuyasha … hurt you in any way? Or maybe … perhaps he touched you in a manner that was … inappropriate?"

Kagome's eyes widened as the insinuation hit home, and a fierce blush crawled into her cheeks. "_No!_" she yelped. She winced at the loudness of her voice. "No," she repeated more calmly, shaking her head fervently to emphasize her point. "Believe me, Mama, Inuyasha didn't do _anything_ like that to me! He wouldn't! H-he does have honor!" She felt offended on Inuyasha's behalf that her mother would even _suggest_ he would hurt her like _that__._

Her mother looked unaccountably relieved. "I don't mean to accuse," she soothed. "It's just that Inuyasha is so … strong-willed…"

Kagome snorted, lips quirking into a smile. "It's okay, you can go ahead and say it. He's wild. I know that. I didn't think you'd noticed though. I made him be on his best behavior whenever he was here."

"I'm not that unobservant, Kagome," she replied wryly. "Truthfully, I've always wondered if it was those beads he wore that … held him back, knowing that you could subdue him if he got out of hand. But it was always your faith in him that kept me from asking you to remain here instead of going back to that place."

Kagome was still blushing; her mother had no idea just how close to the truth she was. She squirmed a bit, feeling guilty about holding out on her. "I-it's okay, Mama," she said softly. "Honestly, you're right. When the spell broke, Inuyasha did go a little wild. He … wouldn't _let_ me come home again. That's the other reason I was gone so long. He threatened to destroy the well if I went near it, and I couldn't chance that happening. It was like … revenge for all the sits I ever gave him. I can sort of understand why he acted the way he did, but he went so power-mad with it! During this past month … Inuyasha was scary! It felt like a stranger had taken over. He seemed to hate me and all we did was fight. I couldn't … _see_ him anymore." She swallowed hard and blinked back tears at the grim memories. "I think it was at least partly my fault, though. There was just so much misunderstanding and all I did was get mad instead of trying to reason things out and in the end I let myself become afraid of him. And then I got sick, and after that Inuyasha was himself again."

Well … almost. Her blush deepened, remembering for the umpteenth time the tender kiss he'd pressed to her lips and his whispered confession. "H-he apologized for everything he'd done, and then he sent me through the well. But before that, he told me he couldn't follow me here anymore. He said sending me back—not knowing if I'd ever return—was the only way he could prove that he trusted me, and he hoped I'd trust him enough to want to return on my own."

Her mother's gaze softened as Kagome spoke. Like all understanding mothers, she could clearly see what her daughter was _not_ saying, and a smile touched her lips. "It seems the both of you have matured a great deal over this ordeal," she commented thoughtfully. "It brings to mind the saying, 'Every cloud has its silver lining'. It seems that you and Inuyasha both have found the silver lining in your clouds."

Kagome's smile bloomed slowly. "Yeah. I … I guess so."

"Will you go back again?"

"Not just yet. It's been so long since I've been home. I want to stay for awhile." Her brow furrowed a little. "I left all my stuff there, and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Shippou and Kaede. Poor little Shippou, he's probably frantic by now. Not only that, my mission still isn't complete. I can't leave until I fix what I broke." She picked up the vial of shards, watching as they glistened in the light streaming through the window. Sighing, she tucked the vial securely into the top drawer of her desk. "But, I have things I need to finish here, too. Most especially, my schoolwork." She winced. "I shudder to think of all that work I'm going to have to make up. And the tests I've missed!" Another thought occurred and she scowled. "I also shudder to think what kind of stupid diseases Grandpa made up for me while I was gone. He better wouldn't have given me anything really gross! Nobody will want to come near me!"

Her mother laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine," she teased. "But, Kagome, I do hope you realize that even though grades are important, they don't need to rule your life. Sometimes, things come along that are much more important."

Kagome gaped. "But, Mama, my grades are my future! What about my future career? If I don't do well in school I won't have a chance of becoming someone important in life!"

"Are you absolutely sure that your future is where you expect it to be?"

Kagome blinked at her. "Huh?"

The woman giggled a very girlish laugh and reached out to tap a finger playfully against Kagome's nose, something she hadn't done since Kagome was a little girl. "Sometimes, life has a way of changing the goals we set for ourselves, to give us an even better goal to move toward. And, Kagome … there is absolutely nothing better in life than to love someone, and to have them love you in return. By the way, Dear, your bath is ready." And with that proclamation, she gave her daughter a demure smile and calmly left the room.

* * *

She wasn't going to come back.

Inuyasha stared down into the well as he had every evening for the past three weeks, in the vain hopes of seeing the blue light and smelling Kagome's sweet scent wafting up from the dark depths as she climbed toward him. But, as it had been every other evening, nothing but shadows and the smell of mold greeted him, and he slumped down against the side and sighed heavily. Three weeks. Three weeks of missing her during the day, dreaming of her at night, wanting more than anything to go back and fix the mistake he'd made of allowing her out of his sight. Wanting to take her into his arms and never let her go again.

Shippou was inconsolable. The poor little kit had been in a state of depression ever since Kagome's disappearance, losing his appetite and doing nothing but whine about how much he missed her. But if Shippou felt that bad, then Inuyasha felt infinitely worse.

He struggled valiantly with himself; the deep feelings he'd discovered he harbored for the beautiful girl from the future mingled together with intense anger and feelings of betrayal in a dangerous, volatile mass of emotion. He'd confessed in so many words that he _loved_ her, and she'd turned right around and trampled his heart underfoot and _abandoned_ him. Stupid, heartless bitch! He should have known better than to get involved! Twice betrayed … and by the same person, no less! Hadn't he learned better the _first_ time around? He glanced angrily at the worn pack resting by his side. She hadn't even returned for her bag. Or her books, for that matter. Those oh-so-precious "textbooks" that she was always complaining she needed to study from, so she could return to her world and take her stupid, useless tests. Not so important _now_, were they? Keh! Apparently, she was so eager to be rid of him that she was willing to leave everything behind!

"I shouldn't have let her take the jewel," he snarled, clenching his fists until the tips of his claws drew blood. "I should've known … she couldn't be trusted! She just took off and ran! Didn't it mean _anything?_" He leaped to his feet and began to pace, before abruptly stopping to glare down into the well. "Didn't anything I tell you _mean_ anything?" he yelled, baring his fangs at the emptiness below. It was too reminiscent of the emptiness he felt in his heart, and he _hated_ it. He hated feeling helpless, and knowing that Kagome was in her time, living her life without him, made him feel more helpless than he could remember ever being before.

"I don't _need_ her," he growled, trying valiantly to convince himself, to shake the depression which continued to eat away at his heart. "I don't _need_ her!" He glared into the well again. "Do you hear me, wench? _I __don't __need __you!_ Go on! _Stay_ in your time, for all I care! I don't need to see you anymore! You were nothin' but trouble, anyhow! So just … just _stay_ there! And … and take this with you!" And he picked up the backpack and hurled it into the well with all his strength, listening for the satisfying _thud_ of it hitting the packed earth below.

There was nothing. Not a sound. He frowned in confusion, ears perking forward, before shrugging and slumping back against the well again in his usual position, with arms and legs crossed and head bent, a stubborn scowl on his face. He stayed that way for all of five minutes before he released a long sigh, then reluctantly climbed to his feet and hopped lightly onto the edge of the well. His intense anger was already vanishing as swiftly as it had come.

Oh, who was he fooling, anyway? His shoulders slumped, and he swallowed around a strange-yet-familiar, aching tightness in his throat. He was glad Kagome had left her bag; it was all he had left of her, now. Her scent still lingered on it; if he left it in the bottom of that well, it would rot and her scent would fade to nothing, and then he'd have absolutely nothing to remember her by. Even though a part of him thought it would be better that way, the rest of him—the part that loved her so very fiercely—just couldn't stand the thought of forgetting even a small part of her. So, after another moment of hesitation, he leapt into the well to retrieve the pack.

He was so caught up in sad thoughts and self-pity that he barely took notice of the light momentarily surrounding him, before it quickly faded again. And had anyone passed the well in that moment, and perhaps chanced to glance into it in passing, they would have found nothing but empty shadows.


	12. All's Well that Ends Well

_Here we are, folks. Sorry for the delay. I was never happy with this chapter so I did quite a bit of rewriting, and then in the middle of it got inspired to write a _brand new _Inuyasha story for the first time in like five years__, so I took a break to write Bound, instead (which is finished and posted, just in case anyone is interested. Although if you don't like lemons, don't read. It's quite ... lemony)._

_Anyway, finally sat down and finished this today. Warning: chapter gets a bit heavy on the lime here. And on the silliness. Rated maaaaybe a light R, if you squint. Please do enjoy, and I do so love my reviews. :)_

* * *

**Chapter ****Twelve**

**All's ****Well ****that ****Ends ****Well**

The moment Inuyasha touched down, he knew something had changed.

Instead of the cool, clean scent of the forest, his nose was assaulted by the harsh, acrid odors of the huge, foreign city in which Kagome made her home. His ears twitched at the distant roar of passing cars and all the noises he'd come to associate with the future. When he looked up, rather than the patch of sky surrounded by the leafy boughs of ancient trees, the weathered roof of the well house greeted his disbelieving eyes. The scent of holy incense hung heavy in the air, even above the odors of pollution.

He was dreaming, wasn't he? Inuyasha stood frozen, every sense taking in the strange-yet-familiar surroundings, while his mind tried its hardest to convince him that it was impossible. Hadn't he tried to go down before, in his desperation to save Kagome? Hadn't it locked him out for good? He shifted a bit, and his foot hit a heavy weight, causing him to look down. Kagome's huge rucksack lay at his feet, flap open and contents scattered, and he dazedly stooped to carefully pick up the precious books and other items and place them inside again. Then, shouldering the pack, he braced himself and easily leapt twenty feet to alight on the wooden walls protecting the shadowed pit.

He was back. As impossible as it seemed, his senses never lied, and he couldn't very well disbelieve what was before his very eyes. His uncertainty slowly gave way to relief, and then joy swept in as he realized that Kagome wasn't lost to him, after all. He allowed a huge grin to split his face, fangs gleaming softly in the dim light of the well house, and clenched a fist victoriously. Now all he had to do was go find Kagome and—

The grin promptly faded as he belatedly recalled the promise he'd made those weeks ago, to trust her to come back on her own. His brow furrowed and he shifted from foot to foot, trying to decide what he should do.

At the time he'd made that promise, he'd thought the well had sealed him out for good. There was no chance of him being able to go and fetch her back. And he'd really believed that she _would_ come back. But she never had, and he wasn't sure she was ever _planning_ to. And now that he was once more free to come and go as he pleased, the temptation to just drag her forcefully away was nearly overwhelming. He could do it, right? It wasn't like she could stop him or—

He shook his head hard enough to send his hair flying, trying to shake the traitorous thoughts out of it. No, _that_ would just be stupid of him. He'd piss her off if he tried something like that, and she'd definitely never trust him again.

Still, if he went without her … what if the well locked him out again? What if _this_ was his only chance to get her back? If he blew it, he'd never be able to forgive himself. Did he really want to risk it?

Inuyasha's ear flattened as he began to pace restlessly around the well house, his entire body quivering with his inner turmoil. To drag her back against her will… After everything he'd already put her through, he shouldn't even be _considering_ something like that! He'd kill what little faith she'd managed to regain in him. He'd be all kinds of a fool if he destroyed it again, after she'd already forgiven him for everything he'd done to her.

He paused, scowling at the floor. Well … he _thought_ she had, anyway. Honestly, her continuing absence was beginning to give him serious doubts. After finally breaking down and admitting just how much she meant to him, he'd been sure she'd come rushing back to him immediately, throw herself into his arms, and proclaim her own undying love. That she hadn't done so was a serious blow to his fragile ego. What if his confession was the reason she hadn't come back? What if he'd really scared her off for good this time?

Still debating, he stepped to the door of the well house and peered cautiously outside; the light was fading, and the sky was lit with vibrant shades of red, pink, and violet in a spectacular sunset. His eyes were drawn to the second floor of the main house, toward Kagome's bedroom window. It was lit from within; he could see a shadow silhouetted against the half-drawn curtains, and his heart kicked. More than anything, he wanted to see Kagome again, promise or no promise. But if he showed up now, wouldn't she think it was because he decided not to trust her again? And how was he supposed to explain his presence after clearly telling her he wasn't able to cross over anymore? What if she thought he'd lied? He knew that's what _he'd_ believe were the positions reversed.

Then again, this _was_ Kagome he was thinking of.

Everything stilled. His mind. His heart. Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath as realization struck home. Yes. This was _Kagome_. Her unwavering faith in him, even when he was at his very worst, was just one of the reasons why he'd fallen in love with her. After all, hadn't he given her the chance—Hadn't he practically _begged_her?—to slip another spelled rosary around his neck? An end to all fear and doubt right there in her hand, and she'd responded by throwing the beads away. She'd been the one to tell him that she wanted to trust him on her own.

She wanted to _trust_ him.

And, he decided, even more than his own desires, he wanted to be worthy of that trust. He would go back and wait, alone.

No matter the reason for her delay, he was sure she wouldn't keep him waiting forever. She wasn't heartless like that. Even if she was paying him back the heartache he'd caused her, he'd endure it. He deserved a little heartache of his own, he supposed. And even if her feelings … weren't like his, if she wanted nothing but friendship from him, he swore to any deity who might be listening that he'd be satisfied with that, just as long as she returned to his side.

Before he went back, though, he had to see her. Just one more glimpse, to fortify his patience and give him the strength to continue waiting. He bounded silently to the house and leapt to the second story, perching on the lower roof beneath Kagome's window so he could peer inside, between the parted curtains.

He was surprised to find the room empty and the door firmly shut. He was sure he'd seen someone moving around in it. But this was an unexpected and welcome opportunity, so he carefully pried open the window and stepped into the room. He breathed deeply as the heady scent of _Kagome_ engulfed him, and his eyes closed as a long-missed peace slowly relaxed his body and spirit, displacing the worry and hurt that had harbored there for nearly a month. He picked up a large, yellow-patterned pillow on her bed and held it close, burying his face in the fabric and inhaling deeply. He felt a little foolish, hugging a pillow—He'd rather be embracing its owner, who was so much warmer and softer and smelled just as good—but he'd missed this scent even more than he realized, and this was probably the closest he'd get to it for a long while yet.

A sudden thump and faint rise of voices made him jump, hastily tossing the pillow away as he remembered that Kagome was probably somewhere inside the house. His ears swiveled in all directions as he listened hard for any hint of someone's approach, nose lifting to delicately test his surroundings. He could detect the scent of freshly-cooked food, and his mouth watered as he recalled the delicious meals Kagome's mother would cook for him. They were probably eating dinner now. He wished he could go down and join them. He smirked, trying to imagine the expression on Kagome's face were he to go down and seat himself at their table as he had on other occasions, just like nothing had ever happened. He could practically _feel_ her shock, and he released a throaty chuckle.

A gleam from the desk caught his eye, and he picked up the small, glass vial holding the shards of the jewel. He sighed, gazing down at the fragments. He took odd comfort in their presence. They were yet another reason for Kagome to return, why she eventually _would_ return. She had a duty to complete, and her honor would never let her forget it, even if she for some reason wished to forget him.

When she'd shattered the jewel, accident or not, he'd been so pissed that he could have killed her for such carelessness. Now, he found he was grateful for the accident, since it had given him the opportunity to spend so much time with her. Where he'd first seen her as nothing but the reincarnation of the miko he used to love, now he saw her as simply Kagome.

And maybe Kikyou had once held his heart in her hands, but it was only Kagome now whom he would entrust with its keeping.

Inuyasha was so wrapped up in his musings that he failed to notice the approaching footsteps in the hall. Only when Souta's voice reached his ears did he startle out of his thoughts, and when Kagome's voice replied, he abruptly began to panic. He let out a yip as he fumbled with the glass vial, nearly dropping it. Then he stood frozen like a trapped animal as the footsteps grew closer, before turning to make a mad dash for the window. He leapt to the sill, preparing to launch himself into the darkness, but then the door opened, and it was already too late.

There was a sharp gasp, a moment of stunned silence behind him, and he cringed slightly and stepped back down to the floor as he waited for the outburst that was sure to come.

"Inuyasha!"

The hanyou found himself nearly bowled over when Souta launched himself forward and wrapped his skinny arms tightly around a red-clad leg. "You came! You came! Kagome said you wouldn't come anymore!" the child cried, dark eyes sparkling with adoration up at his rather uncomfortable hero.

"Uh…" Golden eyes flicked worriedly back and forth between brother and sister. Kagome's face was expressionless, her gaze steady. Inuyasha sweated a little, wanting to squirm beneath her stare. "I … uh…" His eyes fell on the pack he'd dropped near the bed, and he pounced. "Y-you forgot that," he stammered, pointing to the beat-up bag. "I was just … bringing it back to you, is all. Those dumb books are in it. Thought you'd want 'em back." He shifted uncomfortably, shaking his leg a little in a subtle effort to dislodge the shaggy-haired barnacle that persisted in cutting off his circulation.

Kagome's eyes softened as a small grin touched her face. "Souta, do you think you could leave us alone for a bit?" she questioned softly. "Inuyasha and I need to talk, okay?"

"Awwww." Souta pouted. "But I wanted to show him my new video game!"

"Souta, please? It's … kind of important."

"I-I'll come see you later, kid," Inuyasha promised, although he really didn't want to be alone with Kagome at the moment. She was acting _too_ calm about seeing him there, which usually meant an explosion was just around the corner.

Satisfied, Souta finally released Inuyasha's leg and skipped out of the room. "Remember! You promised!" he called as Kagome shut the door. She sighed, then turned back to face an increasingly nervous hanyou.

He braced himself, prepared to receive a thorough tongue-lashing … and nearly fell over when she smiled at him, instead. "I can't say I'm not surprised to see you," she began softly, "but, I'm really glad you're here. I missed you."

He blinked at her. Several times. "Y-you're not mad?"

She pursed her lips. "Should I be?"

"Well … I told you I couldn't come here anymore," he reminded her.

"Yes. You did."

"But, here I am," he elaborated.

"So you are." She settled herself on the edge of her bed, nodding at her bag. "Thanks for returning those books, although it's a bit late. I already had to buy replacements. But, I guess that means I can just leave those in your time, and that way I won't have to drag them back and forth everywhere and can still get my studying in."

She looked pleased with the idea, but _h__e_ was growing agitated. She wasn't reacting at _all_ like he'd expected, and it was making him nervous. "Aren't you even wonderin' why I'm here?" he snapped, before wincing and gentling his voice. "Don't you think I … lied to you, or somethin'?"

She tilted her head a bit. "Did you lie to me?"

"No!" He straightened defensively, then sighed and sank to his haunches. "Well … uh … I didn't mean to, anyway. Honest, Kagome, when I tried the well … that time … it didn't let me through. I just thought since the rosary broke, the connection to you broke along with it."

"So, how did you know to try the well again?" she asked.

He blushed and clammed up, not about to admit he'd been throwing a little tantrum at the time. "Just a fluke," he muttered. "Keh. I wasn't tryin' to spy or thinkin' of dragging you back again."

Kagome's expression gentled as she looked at his bowed head. His tone was as defensive as she'd ever heard it, but his ears were drooping a little; a sure sign he was more nervous than he wanted to admit. Hesitantly, she reached out to lay her hand against his hair, gliding her fingers through the long, silky strands. Her thumb absently stroked along the base of one ear, which flicked at her touch. But instead of grumbling at her like he normally did when she touched his ears, he leaned unconsciously into her hand, encouraging more contact. She smiled. "M-maybe it's just that you were wrong about the reason," she suggested.

He frowned a little, trying to puzzle it out. "The shards? The jewel brought you to m—to us—in the first place."

"I don't think that's it, either. If a shard is needed to cross through, then how could you be here now? I've got them all with me."

"Keh. You got a better idea?"

To his surprise, Kagome blushed. "M-maybe," she hedged.

His ears perked. "So? Ya gonna spill it?"

"I-it's kinda stupid. It's just a theory," she mumbled, tracing a finger over the patterned quilt she sat on. She looked oddly uncomfortable. Now he was _really_ curious.

He nudged her leg with a shoulder. "Aaaand?"

"Well…" She bit her lip. "What if it was … me?"

A heavy eyebrow rose. "You."

"Y-yeah. I mean, what if it was my … feelings?" Now his other brow shot up; she squirmed a bit under his probing gaze. "It's just, when I was sick, you never seemed to be around, and that really hurt me." Her blush deepened at his obvious surprise. "I know I had a lot of nightmares, and I thought you hated me, and I was scared of you, but I … really missed you, too," she continued softly. "I just, more than anything, wanted you to be beside me. The way it used to be. M-maybe that wish was so strong that it actually affected the magic, so the well wouldn't let you leave?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, "So how come I can go through now?"

She continued to look at everything but him. "Because … I still feel the same?" She shrugged, trying to look casual and failing miserably. "I did say I missed you, didn't I?"

His knuckles rapped gently against her temple, skimmed down her face. "You dummy." His voice was so soft that she shivered, inadvertently meeting his gaze. Her heart skipped. His eyes were lidded, the bright amber-gold darkened to a rich, melted honey that made _her_ want to melt all over. He'd never looked at her like _that_ before, not even when he'd kissed her and dropped her into the well. "If you missed me so much, how come you didn't come _back_?" he asked.

She could hardly catch her breath to answer. "I … I guess I got a little scared," she admitted. "At first I was busy trying to catch up with everything, and before I knew it almost two weeks had passed. Then I thought, if I went back now you'd be mad at me for staying away for so long and change your mind. Or maybe I'd just dreamed the whole thing up or—"

Her words were stopped by a warm thumb pressing to her lips, his palm cupping her cheek. He drew closer to nuzzle gently at her ear. "Idiot," he whispered. "That wasn't any dream."

She released a long, shuddering breath as she draped her arms around his shoulders. His arms slipped around her waist without hesitation, pulling her even closer so he could bury his face against her neck. His mouth pressed softly to her throat, and her arms tightened as she allowed herself the luxury of petting his hair, tangling her fingers in the silky strands.

"Will you come back with me?" he asked, his breath hot and moist against her sternum. "I … I mean, unless you ain't done with your test things yet…"

She held back a smile. "Those don't really matter so much anymore," she murmured, and he nearly fell over in shock, pulling away to gape at her. She had to laugh at his dumbfounded expression. "Well, someone made me realize that what I thought was important really isn't as important as I thought it was." She stopped, mulled it over, then shook her head. "That made _so_ much more sense when Mama said it."

His eyes widened. "Y-your mom—?"

Her cheeks reddened again. "Sh-she knows all about what happened and … um…"

"She ain't mad at me?"

Kagome shook her head.

"And she don't care that I—That we're—Uh…"

She shook it again, blush darkening. "Sh-she seems to like you."

"Even though I'm a hanyou?"

"Mama's not one to judge."

"Like mother, like daughter, huh?" He smiled and leaned closer again. "An' what if I took her daughter away? Forever? Would she like me then?"

"I think she'd … understand," Kagome murmured. She was having trouble breathing properly again. Was it always this hot in here? He was suddenly _so__close_, almost looming over her, and she self-consciously leaned further away to regain some personal space, until her elbows were propped on the bed to hold her up. He just followed her, bracing his arms on either side of her body, one knee pressed to the mattress. His hair slipped over his shoulders and fell in a silvery-white curtain all around them. Strands of cool, heavy silk brushed her face and pooled across the heated skin revealed by the V of her neckline. The scent of forest and wind and everything nature permeated the air.

His mouth brushed hers; a delicate, fleeting caress. They both froze, staring wide-eyed at each other. And when Kagome didn't react by shoving him away or punching him across the room, he leaned in to kiss her again, and then a third time.

Three became four, and then she lost count as he pushed her fully to the bed, pressing flush against her as his hands slid up her back until they cradled her head, angling his to deepen their contact. His tentative kisses became bolder, heavier, and when he probed gently she parted her lips to allow him to taste her more deeply. His nose quivered at the first scent of growing arousal—both hers _and_ his—and it elicited a low, needy growl that reverberated from his chest straight into hers.

She gasped into his mouth, startled at the sudden aggressiveness. And really turned on.

The small sound brought him back to his senses, and he abruptly tore his mouth from hers, leaving the both of them gasping as they stared at each other in wonder. His eyes were nothing but a thin ring of molten gold surrounding pupils so dilated they nearly encompassed the color. The way he was looking at her reminded her of her cat whenever he locked on to a flock of birds or a squirrel in the yard. If Inuyasha possessed a tail, it might have been lashing from side to side, just like Bouyo's.

Kagome shifted … then squeaked and hastily lowered her legs, which had somehow wrapped themselves around Inuyasha's waist. _Wh-when__did__I__…__?_

There was warm, rigid _something_ probing insistently at the juncture of her thighs and the burning in her face spread into the rest of her body. She knew _exactly_ what it was, and she unconsciously squirmed with embarrassment. In response, Inuyasha choked on another short growl, hips shifting to press harder against her. His name slipped from her lips on a long, shuddering breath, and that seemed to bring him back to his senses. The melting heat in his gaze lessened; a small, rather sheepish smile touched his kiss-swollen lips. "Kagome," he murmured, stroking a thumb over her cheek and across her tender mouth. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't scare you, did I?"

She shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "Not _scared_, exactly…" she admitted shyly. He looked smugly satisfied with her reply. He also looked more than willing to pick right back up where he'd left off … and she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop him if he did. She was pretty sure she didn't _want_ to. Which meant, of course, that she probably should distract him. "Th-there's something I've been meaning to tell you," she said, her face a picture of solemnity. "It's just been difficult to find the right time lately."

He frowned, stiffening a bit at the sudden change of tone. "What is it?" he asked, voice laced with suspicion. Clearly, he was expecting something horrible.

She raised her hand to stroke her fingers over his cheek in a soothing caress, her expression softening into a gentle smile as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "Nothing _important_," she murmured. "Just that … I really kind of _love_ you."

His eyes flew open and he stared down at her with an expression that warred between disbelief, hope, and elation. Then his arms tightened around her, holding her so close she could hardly breathe, but that was okay because his mouth was on hers and breathing somehow didn't matter anymore as Kagome began to sink further into the blinding passion flowing between them—

"Hey, Inuyasha! Are you done talking to—_E__eeewwwwww!_ That's _gross!_ _Mooooom!_ Kagome and Inuyasha are being baaaaaad!"

"_Souta!_ I'm gonna _kill_ you!" Kagome roared, suddenly free of Inuyasha's arms and launching herself after the hysterically laughing boy, leaving a bemused hanyou to blink after them in surprise. The mood was definitely broken now.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, ears twitching as they picked up the sound of Kagome's loud yells and Souta's squeals of fright, and then he suddenly grinned and flopped back onto the bed, chuckling quietly. Now maybe she'd understand why he was always knocking Shippou around. The little brat had an uncanny knack for interrupting at _exactly_ the wrong moments. Ah, well. He stretched lazily and rose to his feet, shaking himself off and sauntering from the room with a smug grin on his face. A loud crash and a squawk greeted his ears, making the grin stretch from ear to ear. He supposed he'd better go and save Souta from Kagome's wrath. What kind of a hero would he be, otherwise? Besides, he kinda liked Souta; the kid showed good sense. Anyone who idolized _him_ couldn't be all that bad, right?

Kagome's mother brushed by, holding a basket piled with clothes in one arm, carrying a bag of trash in the other. She looked flustered by the sudden racket, but still paused to give him a motherly smile. "Why, hello, Inuyasha! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed. "I believe Kagome is around here—"

"Kagome and Inuyasha, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-"

_ Thud!__Crash!_

"_Die_, you little weasel!"

"_Mooooommmmm!_"

"—somewhere. Please excuse me. Oh, there are leftovers in the refrigerator; they should still be warm. I hope you like oden. Help yourself, dear!" And with that she was breezing down the hallway, laundry and trash balanced expertly in her hands.

Inuyasha stared after her, more than a little impressed. Mrs. Higurashi was really an amazing mother. Calm and collected—even in the face of impending disaster—kind and thoughtful, and clearly someone who cared about her children. Kagome would probably turn out the same way, given how she always doted on Shippou. His expression turned a bit wistful as he tried to imagine Kagome cradling her first—_their_ first—baby in her arms. A daughter. Yeah, it would definitely be a girl. Or … or maybe a boy? He wouldn't mind a son. Someone he could teach how to hunt and fish and—Or why not have both? Yeah … a son _and_ a daughter, who would be raised among people who didn't care that they looked a bit different, or that they might have claws and ears and eyes that marked them as _not quite human_. They would be cared for and loved. They'd never know what it was like to have to fend for themselves. Between him and Kagome, he'd make sure they'd never want for anything.

Of course, it'd be better to wait awhile, he thought with a frown. There was still the matter of the shards. It'd be impossible to collect them if Kagome was laid up or stuck taking care of kids. No way would she be willing to drag her babies into danger, hanyou or not. He wouldn't blame her, either, but no way would he leave them with a bunch of strangers while they were off searching for days and weeks at a time. And once the jewel was finally completed, he didn't know what would happen. He found he'd lost the urge to wish on the jewel to become fully youkai … but he wasn't sure he wished to become fully human, either. Kagome loved him just as he was, so who was he to complain? At the moment, he didn't really care _what_ happened with the jewel, just as long as he could be with Kagome at the end of it all.

A faint trace of food reached his nostrils as he neared the kitchen, and he stopped in his tracks and hungrily licked his lips. Oden, huh? Well, first things first, then. He'd leave Souta in his mother's capable hands while he partook of the most delicious-smelling food. Then, he'd track Kagome down and settle her with a kiss. Or two. Or a few dozen.

And _speaking_ of which…

A screeching Souta suddenly appeared, nearly bowling Inuyasha over as he zipped by with a fuming Kagome hot on his heels. Inuyasha grinned and, without even thinking about it, reached out to snag the girl around the waist, hauling her back against his chest. She squeaked, squirmed around to face him—Possibly to give him a piece of her mind—but never got the chance to open her mouth when she found it firmly engulfed in a heated kiss.

It took a few long, heady moments before she relaxed into his arms, her insides pooling like melted butter as he plied her lips with soft nips and teasing flicks of his tongue. When he finally released her she could hardly find her balance, gazing stupidly into deep, gold-limned eyes that promised _more, _and she swayed toward him again—

And then, of course, Souta had to open his big mouth. "Kagome and Inuyasha, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S—"

Kagome squealed and whirled, claws extended for the kill. Souta screeched in terror, and off they went, leaving poor Inuyasha standing in a trail of dust, a bemused grin tugging at his lips as he shook his head. On second thought … maybe just one son or daughter would be best, after all. No need to rush into things and end up driving himself crazy with the inevitable squabbling. Chuckling to himself, he straightened his clothes primly and stepped into the kitchen.

And now, to see about that oden…

_The End (for real, this time)_

* * *

_Final Notes: So, I never did figure out exactly WHY Inuyasha was actually able to travel through the well. I don't believe any official explanation was ever given or I completely missed it in the anime (never read the manga), but it seems the general consensus (by fans) is that Kagome's feelings and will are what allow both her and Inuyasha to cross through. When Kagome was sick and stuck in the past, Inuyasha was blocked because she was there with him, and subconsciously wanted him by her side (despite the nightmares; remember when she was awake she was upset because he was avoiding her). It wasn't the rosary, or the jewel, it was just her developing love and her strong desire to have him by her side. I hope that makes sense._

_Anyway! The story is now complete. Thanks very much for your support. I appreciate it greatly._


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